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The progress of cognitive decline in newly diagnosed MS patients
Author(s) -
Hankomäki E.,
Multanen J.,
Kinnunen E.,
Hämäläinen P.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/ane.12161
Subject(s) - cognition , multiple sclerosis , cognitive decline , cognitive impairment , psychology , task (project management) , audiology , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , cognitive test , medicine , disease , psychiatry , dementia , management , economics
Objectives Cognitive impairment occurs in multiple sclerosis already in the early stages of the disease. Less is known about the evolution of cognitive decline, especially in newly diagnosed MS patients. The results of existing studies are contradictory in that both cognitive preservation and progressive deterioration have been reported. The purpose of this study was to examine how cognitive impairment evolves over time in the early stages of MS . Material and methods At baseline, the participants were 36 newly diagnosed MS patients and 37 controls. A group of 30 patients were followed longitudinally at a mean test–retest interval of 6.1 years. The test battery covered attention, information processing, memory and learning, verbal and motor functions and reasoning. Results There was a significant decline in divided attention (dual task) and information‐processing speed ( SDMT ) at follow‐up, but no significant deterioration in overall cognitive performance. Conclusions Overall cognitive functioning remained quite stable during the 6‐year follow‐up, whereas divided attention and processing speed deteriorated. However, deterioration in performance on the SDMT and the dual task does not seem to indicate more extensive cognitive deterioration. Given the impact of cognitive impairment on patients' quality of life, early detection of its occurrence in MS is extremely important.