Introduction: Some studies have showed that many issues are still open in relation to the dysfunction observed in some cognitive abilities in multiple sclerosis (MS). One factor could be the different clinical courses of the disease.
Objective: To determine the frequency and the profile of cognitive impairment in the different clinical courses of MS patients (relapsing-remitting (RR), secondary progressive (SP) and primary progressive (PP).
Subjects/Methods: Seventy-six MS patients (36 RR, 20 SP and 20 PP) and 42 controls, comparable in age, sex and education, were studied. The neuropsychological battery consisted of measures of memory, attention, executive functions, language and visuospatial abilities. The cognitive impairment profile was defined as the impairment in specific cognitive abilities in patients with global cognitive impairment.
Results: Eight RR (22.2%), 11 SP (55.5%) and 10 PP (50%) MS patients showed cognitive impairment. The comparison of the cognitive impairment profile among these patients showed that they differed mainly in memory ability. All PP MS patients (100%) showed impairment in short-term memory, whereas RR and SP MS groups did so in long-term memory (72%). Short-term memory in these patients (RR and SP MS) was less impaired than in the PP MS group.
Conclusions: The PPMS patients show an impairment profile in memory ability that differs from the memory impairment profiles observed in other MS groups, which could be an indicator of different pathogenic processes
Resumen extraído de la página web del I Congreso Internacional de Neuropsicología en Internet