. 2026 Jul 22;17:371. doi: 10.1186/s13287-026-05148-5

Table 3.

Demographic and MRI variables of STEMS-patients and reference cohorts

Variables	STEMS 2Y-FU (n = 11)	STEMS LT-FU (n = 11)	Early MS (n = 55)	PMS (n = 19)	HC (n = 23)	2Y-FU p	LT-FU p
Median age (IQR) [years]	51.5 (45.5; 55.0)		32.1 (28.2; 39.5)	51.5 (36.1; 57.5)	50.7 (47.0; 53.5)	vs. early MS: <0.001^a vs. PMS: 0.57 ^a vs. HC: 0.51^a
Sex (%) [M/F]	4/7 (64/36)		26/29 (47/53)	6/13 (32/68)	11/12 (52/48)	vs. early MS: 0.50^b vs. PMS: 0.87 ^b vs. HC: 0.72^b
Median follow-up duration^# (IQR) [years]	1.9 (1.8; 2.0)	3.8 (2.8; 4.1)	2.0 (1.9; 2.1)	1.8 (1.1; 4.1)	2.2 (1.4; 6.0)	vs. early MS: 0.98^a vs. PMS: 0.51^a vs. HC: 0.06^a	vs. 2Y: <0.01^c vs. early MS: <0.001^a vs. PMS: <0.001^a vs. HC: <0.01^a
Median disease duration (IQR) [years]	14.0 (12.0; 19.0)		0.1 (0; 0.2)	14.0 (8.26; 19.5)	-	vs. early MS: <0.001^a vs. PMS: 0.73^a
Median EDSS (IQR)	7.75 (7.0–8.0)	8.5 (7.75; 9.0)	1.0 (0; 1.5)	6.0 (6.0; 6.5)	-	vs. early MS: <0.001^a vs. PMS: <0.01^a	vs. 2Y: <0.01^c vs. early MS: <0.001^a vs. PMS: <0.001^a
N. patients on DMT (%) [none/moderate efficacy/high efficacy^§]	12/0/0	7/1/3 (64/9/27)	33/19/3 (60/35/5)	8/7/4 (42/37/21)	-	-	-
N of patients showing new/enlarged T2 brain lesions (%)	5 (46%)	5 (46%)	5 (9%)	9 (47%)	-	vs. early MS: <0.01^b vs. PMS:0.43^b	vs. 2Y: 0.99^b vs. early MS: 0.01^b vs. PMS:0.43^b
Median change in T2LV^* (IQR)	4.6 (-0.9; 32.3)	8.94 (-1.56; 14.88)	-2.0 (-6.2; 6.1)	0.1 (0.0; 0.1)	-	vs. early MS: <0.01^a vs. PMS: <0.001^b	vs. 2Y: 0.12^c vs. early MS: <0.01^a vs. PMS: <0.001^b
Median PBVC^* (IQR)	-0.73 (-1.41; -0.45)	-0.56 (-1.24; -0.44)	-0.19 (-0.67; -0.09)	-0.61 (-1.16; -0.40)	-0.21 (-0.36; 0.04)	vs. early MS: <0.01^d vs. PMS: 0.57^d vs. HC: <0.01^d	vs. 2Y: 0.6^c vs. early MS: 0.03^d vs. PMS: 0.69^d vs. HC: 0.03^d
Median PGMVC^* (IQR)	-0.76 (-1.07; -0.44)	-0.47 (-0.56; -0.12)	-0.44 (-0.69; -0.20)	-0.57 (-0.97; -0.40)	-0.31 (-0.64; -0.13)	vs. early MS: <0.05^d vs. PMS: 0.68^d vs. HC: <0.01^d	vs. 2Y: 0.04^c vs. early MS: 0.7^d vs. PMS: 0.06 vs. HC: 0.8^d
Median PWMVC^* (IQR)	-0.82 (-1.14; -0.55)	-0.49 (-0.86; -0.23)	-0.47 (-0.93; -0.12)	-0.59 (-0.77; -0.39)	-0.29 (-0.59; -0.10)	vs. early MS: <0.05^d vs. PMS: 0.13^d vs. HC: <0.01^d	vs. 2Y: 0.1^c vs. early MS: 0.9^d vs. PMS: 0.08^d vs. HC: 0.08^d

2Y-FU: 2-years follow-up; HC: healthy controls; F: female; Gd: gadolinium; IQR: interquartile range; LT-FU: long-term follow-up; M: male; MS: multiple sclerosis; PBVC: percentage brain volume change; PGMVC: percentage gray matter volume change; PWMVC: percentage white matter volume change; T2LV: T2-hyperintense lesion volume

^aIndependent-Samples Kruskal-Wallis test with post-hoc comparisons

^bFisher’s exact test

^cWilcoxon Signed Rank Test for paired samples

^dANCOVA models corrected for age, sex, normalized brain tissue volumes, EDSS and MR scanner (as appropriate)

^§Moderate Efficacy DMT=azathioprine, interferon beta 1a, or teriflunomide; High Efficacy DMT= fingolimod, natalizumab, ocrelizumab

^#vs. previous MRI scan

*Variation vs. previous timepoint, results are divided for follow-up duration to obtain annualized values