Exploring associations between multiple sclerosis (MS) progress and diet.

This project will develop pilot data for n=15 people who have been diagnosed by a neurologist with MS using the McDonald criteria. People diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS will be recruited as part of their routine scan (6 monthly) which forms part of usual care for MS. All eligible people living with MS will be included regardless of time since diagnosis. Exclusion criteria, however, will be limited to an ability to speak and communicate in the English language. All eligible participants will complete one MRI scan using a research protocol designed specifically for this study. However, the team are not 'intervening' in any way and the research protocol is purely observational. Prior to attending the scan participants will be sent an online link to a dietary assessment tool to access the ASA-24 AU. The tool uses a recall of the previous 24 hour period of food and beverage intake using validated methodology, taking ~25 minutes to complete. A repeated 24-hour recall will occur within the same week as the MRI to allow for usual intake regression models to be created using the Multiple Source method. Participants will also complete a 5-10 minute interview-administered questionnaire to collect other details of lifestyle management behaviours and practices including physical activity, smoking status, self-perceived stress, height and weight to calculate body mass index, UV exposure, dietary pattern and the presence of comorbidities. These procedures, including a 33 minute MRI scan will be repeated to the 12-month time to monitor any changes that may occur over time. MRI scans will be assessed by two radiologists to determine the number of new and/or enlarging T2 lesions. The T1 images will also be run through a semi-automated pipeline using FreeSurfer software with manual corrections made by the research to accurately calculate whole brain volume.