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Cognitive dysfunction in primary progressive multiple sclerosis: a neuropsychological and MRI study

M Ukkonen1, T Vahvelainen, P Hämäläinen

  • 1Department of Neurology and Rehabilition, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland; Medical School, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland; National Graduate School of Clinical Investigation, Finland. maritta.ukkonen@pshp.fi

Multiple Sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
|June 27, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) patients exhibit cognitive deficits similar to secondary progressive MS (SPMS) patients. These cognitive impairments in PPMS correlate with brain lesion load, not atrophy.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Neurology
  • Clinical Medicine

Background:

  • Cognitive dysfunction is a known complication of multiple sclerosis (MS).
  • Limited research exists on cognitive performance specifically in primary progressive MS (PPMS).
  • Understanding PPMS cognitive patterns is crucial for patient care and management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the pattern of cognitive performance in patients with PPMS.
  • To compare cognitive function in PPMS patients with healthy controls and secondary progressive MS (SPMS) patients.
  • To correlate cognitive deficits in PPMS with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests on 28 PPMS patients.
  • Compared PPMS patient results to 20 healthy controls and 28 SPMS patients.
  • Correlated neuropsychological test results with MRI findings, including lesion load and atrophy.

Main Results:

  • PPMS patients demonstrated significant deficits across multiple cognitive domains compared to controls.
  • The extent of cognitive impairment in PPMS patients was comparable to that observed in SPMS patients.
  • Cognitive deficits in PPMS correlated significantly with diffuse brain lesion burden, T1-lesion load, and T2-lesion load.
  • No significant correlation was found between cognitive deficits in PPMS and brain atrophy.

Conclusions:

  • PPMS is associated with widespread cognitive dysfunction.
  • Cognitive impairment patterns in PPMS are similar to those in SPMS.
  • Brain lesion load, rather than atrophy, is associated with cognitive deficits in PPMS.

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