Odom Laura B, Thomas Gary A, Zachariah Jikku J, Zagon Ian S, McLaughlin Patricia J
Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
Department of Neurology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin. 2025 Apr 1;11(2):20552173251329904. doi: 10.1177/20552173251329904. eCollection 2025 Apr-Jun.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves symptoms that may be impacted by angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent pro-angiogenic molecule, is elevated in early MS, but its activity in later disease is understudied. [Met]-enkephalin (ENK) has anti-angiogenic activity and is decreased in persons with MS (PwMS).
To determine salient symptoms of MS and evaluate relationships between common MS symptoms and angiogenesis-associated biomarkers.
PwMS and non-MS control participants were identified for this cross-sectional study. Walking times and self-reported fatigue, anxiety, depression, and pain were measured. Serum VEGF and [Met] ENK levels were measured in a subset of PwMS.
PwMS ( = 66) had significantly greater fatigue than controls ( = 35). In PwMS, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and pain were positively intercorrelated; fatigue was positively correlated with slower walking. Serum ENK and VEGF had a trending negative relationship. Serum ENK, but not VEGF, had a trending negative relationship with the length of disease. Serum ENK and VEGF were not correlated to walking time or self-report measures.
Fatigue is a salient MS symptom when compared to non-MS controls. Imbalanced pro- and anti-angiogenic signaling may influence fatigue in established MS, but further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to elucidate this potential relationship.
多发性硬化症（MS）的症状可能受到血管生成的影响。血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）是一种强效的促血管生成分子，在MS早期升高，但在疾病后期其活性研究较少。[甲硫氨酸]-脑啡肽（ENK）具有抗血管生成活性，在MS患者（PwMS）中含量降低。
确定MS的显著症状，并评估常见MS症状与血管生成相关生物标志物之间的关系。
确定PwMS和非MS对照参与者进行这项横断面研究。测量步行时间以及自我报告的疲劳、焦虑、抑郁和疼痛情况。在一部分PwMS中测量血清VEGF和[甲硫氨酸]ENK水平。
PwMS患者（n = 66）的疲劳程度显著高于对照组（n = 35）。在PwMS患者中，疲劳、焦虑、抑郁和疼痛呈正相关；疲劳与步行速度减慢呈正相关。血清ENK和VEGF呈负相关趋势。血清ENK而非VEGF与疾病病程呈负相关趋势。血清ENK和VEGF与步行时间或自我报告指标无关。
与非MS对照相比，疲劳是MS的一个显著症状。促血管生成和抗血管生成信号失衡可能影响已确诊MS患者的疲劳，但需要更大样本量的进一步研究来阐明这种潜在关系。
