Attention impairment associated with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients with mild incapacity.
Neuropsychological studies have consistently reported cognitive dysfunctions associated with multiple sclerosis. One-hundred fifteen subjects with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were compared with forty health controls according to a neuropsychological test battery, which included digit span, trail making, cancellation and stroop test. Both groups were matched for age, sex and educational level. Subjects with RRMS had a worse performance the speed of response. Subjects with RRMS spent more time to complete the test in either sections A (p=0.001) or B (p=0.001), although there was no significant difference in terms of number of errors. The total time required to finish the Stroop test was higher for subjects with RRMS (p<0.001), being the time difference between groups significant at trial 4 (p<0.001). Attention impairment in subjects with RRMS is related to slowed central processing, which may be affected in all stages, including impairment of automatic and controlled processing of information and in the motor program.
Balsimelli
Silvia
S
Department of Neurology, Santa Casa School of Medical Sciences, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Mendes
Maria Fernanda
MF
Bertolucci
Paulo H F
PH
Tilbery
Charles Peter
CP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011581:Psychological Tests; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric