Cognitive impairment is highly prevalent in patients with multiple sclerosis and mechanisms of cognitive decline remain poorly understood.
Our group conducted a study of patients with MS to study myelin content in brain lesions and cognition in MS.
One hundred and sixty-four MS patients underwent MRIs using a specialized sequence that measures myelin content in lesions. These patients also had cognitive assessment using a test called SDMT, which is a good test of information processing speed which is a commonly affected aspect of cognition in MS patients.
We found that more myelin damage in MS lesions is associated with impaired processing speed. These results suggest that chronic lesion demyelination may contribute to mechanisms of cognitive impairment in MS
The results of this study is being presented at ACTRIMS ( Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis) this month.
Susan Gauthier, DO