Long-lasting memory deficits in children recovered from Reye's syndrome

Twenty-six children, ages 7-18 years, were tested for possible memory impairments following Reye's syndrome (RS). The RS group was matched to a normal control group on race, age, SES, and estimated IQ. The Wechsler Memory Scale (with delayed recall) and two depth-of-processing tests were administered. For the control group, the mean MQ-IQ difference was +2, while the MQ-IQ difference for the RS group was -14. This proved to be highly significant. Short-term memory and long-term memory scores were significantly lower for the RS group, with verbal memory tasks being most affected.