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Updated: Dec 11, 2025
Comprehensive Autopsy Program for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis
Published on: July 19, 2019
Alexithymia in multiple sclerosis: Clinical and radiological correlations
1MS unit research Nice Cote D'azur university (UR2CA), CHU de Nice, Pasteur 2 university hospital, 30, voie Romaine, 06002 Nice, France.
Background:
Alexithymia, meaning no words for emotions is a common problem that could affect up to 53% of patients in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Objectives:
To determine the frequency of alexithymia in MS and investigate MS-related abnormalities in structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and their associations with fatigue and cognitive functions.
Methods:
Ninety-five patients at all stages of the disease were examined: 21 with clinically isolated syndromes (CIS), 30 with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 21 with primary (PP) and 23 with secondary progressive MS (SPMS). Alexithymia was measured with the Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20) and correlated to cognitive functions, depression, and fatigue. Voxel-based morphometry MRI was analyzed to determine lesion load, cerebral and regional atrophy.
Results:
Fifty-seven of patients had alexithymia with no significant difference between the clinical phenotypes. Alexithymic patients differed from non-alexithymic patients on fatigue, depression and information processing speed. Compared to non-alexithymic patients, alexithymic patients had decreased volumes of cerebral and cerebellar white matter and there was a significant relationship between alexithymia and decreased brainstem, thalamic and corpus callosum volume.
Conclusion:
Regardless of the phenotype of MS, alexithymia is associated with atrophy of cerebral and cerebellar white matter, brainstem, corpus callosum, and thalami.
