Cohort description.

Patient-wise analysis. Key: MS with short duration: MS patients with less than 5 years disease duration; MS with long duration: MS patients with more than 5 years disease duration; SD: standard deviation § p = 0.295, Pearson’s Chi-squared test to assess gender differences between MS with short and long duration. $ p<0.001, Kruskal-Wallis test to assess age differences between MS with short and long duration. # p = 0.003, Mann-Whitney U test to assess group differences between MS with short and long duration. Cohort description.