The direct comparison of African Americans (AAs) and Caucasians (CAs) points to cerebellar atrophy as the main difference between subgroups in a recent study that comprehensively assessed the extent of gray matter (GM) damage and the degree of functional adaptation to structural damage in AAs with multiple sclerosis (MS). In this cross-sectional MRI brain study, researchers characterized GM damage in terms of focal lesions and volume loss and functional adaptation during the execution of a simple motor task on a sample of 20 AAs and 20 CAs with MS and 20 healthy controls (HCs). They found:

• In AAs, there was a wider range of Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores than CAs, with multisystem involvement being more likely in AAs.
• While no significant differences were detected in lesion loads and global brain volumes, AAs showed regional atrophy in the posterior lobules of cerebellum, temporo-occipital, and frontal regions in comparison with CAs, with cerebellar atrophy being the best metric in differentiating AAs from CAs.