Processing speed impairment in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy patients: a cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) has limited evidence regarding cognitive involvement.
• Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in CIDP is infrequently reported and debated.
• The Five Digit Test (FDT) assesses oral processing speed (PS) and executive functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate FDT performance in CIDP patients.
• To compare FDT performance between CIDP patients with and without CNS alterations on brain MRI.
• To investigate the relationship between cognitive function, disability, and CNS status in CIDP.

Main Methods:

• 14 CIDP patients and 24 controls underwent cognitive assessment using FDT, HADS, and R-ODS.
• Patients were categorized into groups with (CIDPabnl) and without (CIDPnl) brain MRI abnormalities.
• FDT performance was compared between CIDP subgroups and controls.

Main Results:

• CIDP patients, irrespective of MRI findings, exhibited significantly slower PS compared to controls.
• Slower PS in CIDP patients was negatively correlated with disability scores.
• Specific FDT tasks (reading, counting) showed statistically significant differences.

Conclusions:

• CIDP is associated with impaired processing speed.
• Slower processing speed in CIDP patients correlates with higher disability levels.
• Cognitive deficits in PS may occur in CIDP independently of detectable CNS abnormalities on MRI.