Cardiometabolic Comorbidity and Outcomes in Multiple Sclerosis: A Polygenic Risk Score Approach
Abstract
What is the problem and how are we trying to solve it? Cardiometabolic health is a term that refers to the health of a person s heart, blood, and blood vessels. It also is related to how a person s body can turn food components like sugar and fat into energy. Health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, or high blood pressure are called cardiometabolic diseases. People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are at a higher risk for developing these conditions compared to people without MS. A person with MS who has one of these conditions may be at higher risk of their MS worsening. For example, a person with MS and high blood pressure might have more MS disability than a person with MS who does not have high blood pressure. However, the results from studies so far have not been the same. Sometimes in studies where participants are not randomized (like the flip of a coin) to a study treatment, there can be bias. The bias could have played a role in the different conclusions. We want to reduce these biases by studying genetic factors that are related to a person s risk for diabetes or high blood pressure. Genetic factors do not change over a person s lifetime. There are many of these genetic factors that play a role in a person s risk for diabetes or high blood pressure. Together, they are called diabetes genetic scores or high blood pressure genetic scores. The goal of this study is to see if these genetic scores can predict MS progression. There are also genetic scores that can affect how well diabetes medicines or high blood pressure medicines work. Sometimes the genetic factors can make the medicines work better. We also want to see if the genetic factors making the medicines work better can predict less MS disability. We will use genetic factors for many kinds of diabetes or high blood pressure medicines. We expect to find that there are genetic factors for one type of medicine that can predict less disability. If so, then future studies could test if taking the medicine itself can prevent disability progression in MS. Since all these medicines are already available and can be prescribed by doctors today, the results could open the doors for many new potential medicines to treat MS progression. What types of patients could it potentially help and how? Diabetes and high blood pressure are very common conditions. They affect many people with MS. Our study focuses on the genetic scores and not the actual conditions themselves. So, the results of this study can be important for all types of people with MS. The results may suggest there are treatments for high blood pressure or diabetes that might also slow MS disability. What are the potential clinical applications, benefits, and risks? Our study can help us understand how conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure are linked with changes in MS disease. It can also help us to know if medicines for these conditions can slow down MS disability. We do not think there will be any risks with this study. We have collected all the data for this study already. We removed any information that could identify an individual person. We will also take important steps to make sure it is analyzed in a safe way. What is the projected time it may take to achieve a patient-related outcome? We will see how diabetes or high blood pressure can affect MS disability. Our primary goal focuses on identifying predictors of disability progression, which is related to a person s quality of life. As a result, a patient-related outcome might be achieved in the short-term or 1 to 2 years. In the long term (more than 2 years), the results of this study may suggest that medicines for diabetes or high blood pressure might help prevent MS disability. How are we addressing fiscal year 2022 MSRP Focus Areas for (1) Factors Contributing to or Associated with MS Etiology, Prodrome, Onset, and Disease Course and (2) Correlates of Disease Activity and Progressi
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2024
- Source ID
- HT94252310680
Entities
People
- Kathryn Fitzgerald
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University
- United States Army