[Neuropsychological evaluation in a case of multiple sclerosis].
BACKGROUND
The neuropsychological assessment of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be diagnostically useful to provide a patient's cognitive profile, to observe the spread of the deficit and to identify the peculiar areas that are more or less affected, in order to plan a long-term management and treatment.


METHODS
In this article, we present a case of cognitive dysfunction associated with a progressive MS in a 54 years woman, which was diagnosed six years ago. The magnetic resonance imaging showed demyelinating lesions at the periventricular region, with left predominance, and in the protuberance with signs of cortico-subcortical atrophy. We performed neuropsychological assessment of the main cognitive areas: orientation, attention, information processing, memory, general intelligence functioning, language, arithmetic, visual-spatial functioning, motor, executive functioning and personality.


CONCLUSIONS
The results obtained point out serious alterations in the information speed processing, long term memory, motor, executive functioning and personality. This results go in a concordant way with the results reported in the consulted bibliography. Likewise, it is commented the resemblance of the cognitive deficit related to a pattern of subcortical dementia.
Unidad de Psicología, Hospital Psiquiátrico Provincial de Mérida, Badajoz, España. jcsanz@correo.cop.es
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Sanz de la Torre
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Pérez-Ríos
D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index