The
study investigates primary and secondary verbal memory and
motor/executive functions (response inhibition and strategy shifting
ability) in
multiple sclerosis (MS)
patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). We studied 44 CIS
patients and compared them to 49 patients with relapsing remitting MS
(RR-MS) displaying mild disability and to a large cohort of age- and
education level-matched healthy volunteers(n=230).
Results
showed that both CIS and RR-MS patients evidenced a disproportionate
impairment in the immediate and delayed recall of the second (as
compared to the first) of two short narratives of the Logical Memory
WMS-III subtest, and reduced performance on the Memory for
Digits-Forward. Performance of either group on the executive tasks was
not impaired, showing evidence of a reversed speed-accuracy trade-off.
Illness duration emerged as a significant predictor of memory and
executive task performance. Clinical, psychoemotional, and brain imaging
findings were also examined as potential correlates of memory deficits
and disease progression among CIS patients.
These
findings may signify early-onset decline of specific cognitive functions
in CIS, which merits regular follow-up assessments and monitoring of
psycho-emotional adaptation and everyday functioning.
This study suggeststhat the brain can be affected early in MS.