Does familial Mediterranean fever affect cognitive function in children? Electrophysiological preliminary study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Pediatrics
• Rheumatology

Background:

• Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is a periodic autoinflammatory disease characterized by subclinical inflammation between attacks.
• Colchicine therapy is standard for FMF management, but its long-term effects on cognitive function require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively evaluate the cognitive function in children diagnosed with FMF undergoing colchicine therapy.
• To compare cognitive function between FMF patients and healthy controls using electrophysiologically event-related potentials (ERPs).

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 12 children with FMF and 12 healthy controls participated.
• Participants underwent electroencephalography (EEG) while performing a visual discrimination task.
• The P300 component of ERPs, reflecting cognitive processing, was measured for amplitude and latency.

Main Results:

• FMF patients exhibited a higher P300 amplitude compared to controls, indicating enhanced cognitive processing.
• P300 latencies were shorter in FMF patients, suggesting faster visual processing speed.
• The difference in P300 amplitude was statistically significant, while latency differences were not.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive functions, including attention allocation and visual processing speed, appear unaffected in pediatric FMF patients with homozygous M694V mutations on colchicine treatment.
• These findings suggest that current FMF management may preserve cognitive abilities in children.
• This study provides valuable insights for counseling families and patients regarding the cognitive impact of FMF.