Longitudinal Changes of Functional Connectivity Dynamism Are Relevant for Disability Worsening in Multiple Sclerosis: A 2.5-Year Study

Here, we investigated changes in time-varying functional connectivity over 2.5 years of follow-up in 129 multiple sclerosis patients and their association with disability progression. At follow-up, 25/129 (19.3%) patients worsened clinically. At baseline, multiple sclerosis patients showed reduced time-varying functional connectivity vs controls in orbitofrontal, cerebellar, precuneal and thalamic regions. At 2.5-year follow-up, patients exhibited widespread reduction of time-varying functional connectivity over time. Such a pattern was confirmed when looking at clinically stable patients. Conversely, clinically worsened patients presented peculiar reductions of time-varying functional connectivity in default-mode network areas and in basal ganglia, this latter significant at time-by-group interaction analysis.