PURPOSE: Although neuropsychological impairments are common in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the manifestation of cognitive deficits may vary greatly across MS patients. Here, we explored the influence of cognitive reserve proxy indices (education and occupation) and perceived fatigue on cognitive performance. METHODS: Fifty relapsing-remitting MS patients were evaluated. Cognitive performance was measured using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), in which information processing speed can be manipulated by varying the presentation speed of stimuli. RESULTS: MS patients with low education performed worse than healthy controls at faster PASAT speeds. By contrast, no difference was observed between MS patients with high education and matched healthy controls, regardless of PASAT speed. Moreover, we found that neither occupational attainment nor perceived fatigue has an influence on MS patients' cognitive performance. CONCLUSION: These findings provide evidence that higher education could be protective against MS-associated cognitive deficits and that high speed PASAT versions are more suitable for identifying compensatory capacities compared to low speed PASAT versions.
PURPOSE: Although neuropsychological impairments are common in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the manifestation of cognitive deficits may vary greatly across MS patients. Here, we explored the influence of cognitive reserve proxy indices (education and occupation) and perceived fatigue on cognitive performance. METHODS: Fifty relapsing-remitting MS patients were evaluated. Cognitive performance was measured using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), in which information processing speed can be manipulated by varying the presentation speed of stimuli. RESULTS: MS patients with low education performed worse than healthy controls at faster PASAT speeds. By contrast, no difference was observed between MS patients with high education and matched healthy controls, regardless of PASAT speed. Moreover, we found that neither occupational attainment nor perceived fatigue has an influence on MS patients' cognitive performance. CONCLUSION: These findings provide evidence that higher education could be protective against MS-associated cognitive deficits and that high speed PASAT versions are more suitable for identifying compensatory capacities compared to low speed PASAT versions.
Authors: Seyed-Parsa Hojjat; Charles Grady Cantrell; Timothy J Carroll; Rita Vitorino; Anthony Feinstein; Lying Zhang; Sean P Symons; Sarah A Morrow; Liesly Lee; Paul O'Connor; Richard I Aviv Journal: Mult Scler Date: 2016-02-04 Impact factor: 6.312
Authors: Aliza Bitton Ben-Zacharia; Malvin N Janal; Abraham A Brody; Jerry Wolinsky; Fred Lublin; Gary Cutter Journal: J Cent Nerv Syst Dis Date: 2021-11-06
Authors: Daniela Pinter; James Sumowski; John DeLuca; Franz Fazekas; Alexander Pichler; Michael Khalil; Christian Langkammer; Siegrid Fuchs; Christian Enzinger Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-01-27 Impact factor: 3.240