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Patients with multiple sclerosis present low levels of empathy
Marcos Barbosa de Almeida1, Luana Carramilo Going1,2, Yara Dadalti Fragoso2,3
1Universidade Católica de Santos, Departamento de Psicologia, Santos SP, Brasil.
Methods:
This is a single center, cross-sectional study, of 34 patients with MS and 34 matched control subjects. A specific questionnaire (empathy quotient) was used.
Results:
Patients with MS showed significantly lower levels of empathy. This finding was not correlated with disease duration, degree of disability, drugs for treating MS or lesion load on resonance magnetic imaging.
Conclusion:
Decreased empathy is a frequent condition in patients with MS and should be addressed in order to diminish the psychosocial burden of this neurological disease.
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