Immunomodulatory treatments and cognition in MS

Cognitive impairments occur frequently and early in multiple sclerosis ( MS ) and contribute significantly to a reduced quality of life of patients with MS . Executive functions ( EF s) play a pivotal role for the behavioral adaption to the environment and are also crucial for compensatory processes of cognitive impairments. Disease‐modifying drugs ( DMD s) are effective in reducing the frequency of relapses and slow the disease progression in MS . The effects of DMD s on cognitive impairments were reviewed with a special focus on EF s. Most studies show some beneficial effects of DMD s on cognition in MS , but the evidence for effects on EF s is sparse. Additionally, most studies suffer from methodological issues, small sample sizes and learning effects. We discuss that EF s may constitute a viable cognitive endpoint for cognitive impairments in MS , which could foster the early detection of subtle cognitive changes in MS .