cognition in multiple sclerosis

INTRODUCTION: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is generally diagnosed at an early age, making the acceptance of this chronic disease challenging. Research dedicated to young adults with MS (YawMS) is still limited. A biopsychosocial co-created intervention for YawMS integrating social, physical and psychological activities was developed (ESPRIMO intervention) in order to improve the quality of life (QoL) and well-being. This pre-post intervention assessment study examines the feasibility of the ESPRIMO intervention and its signal of efficacy...

OBJECTIVE: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative condition featuring variable degrees of motor and cognitive impairment. We assessed the impact of specific, empirically derived occupational skills and requirements on cognitive and motor functioning in ALS. METHODS: Individuals with ALS (n = 150) were recruited from the University of Pennsylvania's Comprehensive ALS Clinic. The Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral ALS Screen (ECAS) measured cognition, and the Penn Upper Motor Neuron (PUMNS) and ALS Functional Rating Scales (ALSFRS-R) measured motor symptoms...

OBJECTIVE: To establish the inter- and intra-rater reliability of The Step Test Evaluation of Performance on Stairs (STEPS) for people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) and examine its relation to clinical mobility measures, cognition, and activity levels. DESIGN AND SETTING: STEPS performance was rated by three raters at the initial visit. Two raters observed the STEPS performance via videotape at the initial visit and then one week later. Participants also completed in lab clinical mobility tests and cognitive assessments at their initial visit...

It is increasingly recognized that cognitive symptoms are a common sequelae of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and are associated with adverse functional consequences. However, estimates of cognitive impairment (CIm) prevalence vary widely. This study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of CIm among adults with RRMS and investigate moderators of prevalence rates. Following prospective registration (PROSPERO; CRD42021281815), electronic databases (Embase, Scopus, Medline, and PsycINFO) were searched from inception until March 2023...

An 84-year-old man presented with somnolence, dysphagia, and right hemiplegia, all occurring within a month, approximately one year after initial admission due to subacute, transient cognitive decline suggestive of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis involving the cerebral white matter. Serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies over that period revealed three high-intensity signal lesions on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images, appearing in chronological order in the left upper and left lower medulla oblongata and left pontine base...

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) negatively impacts cognition and has been associated with deficits in social cognition, including emotion recognition. There is a lack of research examining emotion recognition from multiple modalities in MS. The present study aimed to employ a clinically available measure to assess multimodal emotion recognition abilities among individuals with MS. METHOD: Thirty-one people with MS and 21 control participants completed the Advanced Clinical Solutions Social Perceptions Subtest (ACS-SP), BICAMS, and measures of premorbid functioning, mood, and fatigue...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that thalamic and hippocampal neurodegeneration is associated with clinical decline in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, contributions of the specific thalamic nuclei and hippocampal subfields require further examination. OBJECTIVE: Using 7 Tesla (7T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we investigated the cross-sectional associations between functionally grouped thalamic nuclei and hippocampal subfields volumes and T1 relaxation times (T1-RT) and subsequent clinical outcomes in MS...

OBJECTIVES: To explore structural and functional alterations of external (GPe) and internal (GPi) globus pallidus in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) compared to healthy controls (HC) and analyze their relationship with measures of clinical disability, motor and cognitive impairment. METHODS: Sixty pwMS and 30 HC comparable for age and sex underwent 3.0T MRI, including conventional, diffusion tensor MRI and resting state (RS) functional MRI. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores were rated and timed 25-foot walk (T25FW) test, nine-hole peg test (9HPT), and paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT) were administered...

INTRODUCTION: Healthcare professionals have an important role in advocating for the adoption of a brain-healthy lifestyle for optimal multiple sclerosis (MS) care. Nonetheless, studies to date have mainly focussed on the consumer perspective. Herein, we aimed to explore the current practices of how healthcare professionals support protective, lifestyle-related behaviour changes to optimise brain health among people living with MS (plwMS), and their perspectives of professional roles. METHODS: Australian healthcare professionals were recruited via study advertisements, purposive and snowball sampling, to participate in an online, semi-structured and audio-recorded interview...

OBJECTIVE: Severe fatigue is a prevalent and disabling symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study tested if a fatigue- and physical activity-related attentional bias (AB) and a somatic interpretation bias (IB) are present in severely fatigued patients with MS. Biases were compared to healthy controls and patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). METHOD: Severely fatigued patients with MS or ME/CFS and healthy controls completed a Visual Probe Task (VPT) assessing fatigue- and physical activity-related AB and an IB task that assesses the tendency to interpret ambiguous information in either a somatically threatening way or in a more neutral manner...

Clinicians are becoming increasingly aware of the cognitive and psychopathological consequences of neurological diseases, which were once thought to manifest with motor and sensory impairments only. The cognitive profile of multiple sclerosis, in particular, is now well-characterised. Similar efforts are being made to better characterise the cognitive profile of other central nervous system inflammatory demyelinating autoimmune disorders. This review discusses the current understanding of the cognitive and psychological features of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD)...

Verbal fluency (VF) evaluates language and cognitive abilities. This study compared VF in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) and healthy controls (HC), examining variables including correct responses (CR), mean cluster size (MCS), switches (S), and fluency difference score (FDS). RRMS participants were subgrouped by Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), to explore the relationship between MS severity and VF. Twenty-four RRMS participants and matched HCs underwent Mini-Mental State Exam and VF Test...

Understanding the concept of network hubs and their role in brain disease is now rapidly becoming important for clinical neurology. Hub nodes in brain networks are areas highly connected to the rest of the brain, which handle a large part of all the network traffic. They also show high levels of neural activity and metabolism, which makes them vulnerable to many different types of pathology. The present review examines recent evidence for the prevalence and nature of hub involvement in a variety of neurological disorders, emphasizing common themes across different types of pathology...

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord and brain atrophy are common in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) but harbor distinct patterns accounting for disability and cognitive impairment. METHODS: This study included 209 NMOSD and 304 RRMS patients and 436 healthy controls. Non-negative matrix factorization was used to parse differences in spinal cord and brain atrophy at subject level into distinct patterns based on structural MRI...

Background and Objectives : objective measures of disability and neurological impairmentare used to search for disease activity and monitor disease evolution in multiple sclerosis (MS). These are sometimes in disagreement with subjective quality-of-life measures. We aimed to establish the relations between the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life instrument (MSQOL-54) and objective measures of neurological impairment. Materials and Methods : 107 patients with MS were evaluated with the Single Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) for cognition, Nine Holes Peg Test (9HPT) for upper limb function, 25 Feet Walk Test (25FWT) for gait, and EDSS for global disability in a cohort study...

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic climbing (TC) has emerged as a prospective rehabilitation approach for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). The existing literature primarily focuses on the physical and psychological benefits of TC across diverse populations but is limited concerning its application and efficacy for patients with MS. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to delineate the experiences, subjective effects, and perceptions of both individuals with MS and therapists regarding TC, highlighting the potential benefits and challenges of this therapeutic approach...

Spatial navigation ability is essential for independent living, and it relies on complex cognitive and motor processes that are vulnerable to decline in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). The role of mobility in the physical act of navigation has been well documented; however, its association with cognitive processing that supports efficient navigation and recall of the environment is unknown. This study examined the relation between clinical mobility function and spatial navigation ability in pwMS. In a clinical sample of 43 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS ( M PDDS = 2; age 25-67 years), we assessed spatial navigation ability in a virtual Morris water maze that allowed for active search by controlling a joystick while seated at a computer, and subsequent free recall of environment details...

While cognitive abilities in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) have been studied in detail, little is known about linguistic abilities in PwMS and their relation to cognitive impairment. In this cross-sectional explorative study, we aim to investigate the morphosyntactic abilities of PwMS alongside their cognitive performance. Furthermore, we explore the effect of clinical factors, namely, the disease duration and MS type, on the linguistic and cognitive performance of PwMS. By so doing, we aim to shed light on neurocognitive and clinical correlates of linguistic performance in PwMS...

Cognitive fatigue is a major symptom of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), from the early stages of the disease. This study aims to detect if brain microstructure is altered early in the disease course and is associated with cognitive fatigue in people with MS (pwMS) compared to matched healthy controls (HC). Recently diagnosed pwMS (N = 18, age < 45 years old) with either a Relapsing-Remitting or a Clinically Isolated Syndrome course of the disease, and HC (N = 19) matched for sex, age and education were analyzed...

BACKGROUND: People with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) frequently present both cognitive and motor impairments, so it is reasonable to assume they may have difficulties in executing dual-tasks (DT). The aim of the present study is to identify novel technology-based parameters to assess cognitive-motor interference (CMI) in PwMS. In particular, we focused on the definition of dual-task cost (DTC) measures using wearable and portable tools such as insoles and mobile apps. METHODS: All participants underwent a verbal fluency task (cognitive single-task, ST), a motor ST of walking, and a combination of these tasks (DT)...