Cognitive profile of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis

VIVIAN M. ANDRADE, ORLANDO F.A. BUENO, MARIA GABRIELA M. OLIEVIRA, ACARY S.B. OLIVEIRA, ENEDINA M.L. OLIVEIRA, MÔNICA C. MIRANDA

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common disease in Western countries of temperate/cold climate, but in tropical countries an increasing number of cases have been diagnosticated. Moved by the lack of information about cognitive dysfunction of Brazilian MS patients, the present study attempted to describe features of neuropsychological alterations in patients with relapsing remitting MS living in the city of São Paulo. They were compared to healthy volunteers, matched for age and education. In the absence of global intellectual deterioration, the patients had a deficit: a) in learning and verbal long-term memory tasks and in visual long-term memory of complex figure; b) in timed tasks, accounted for by a slowness of mental processes; c) in tasks with a motor component. Tendency to depression was observed; anxiety levels were normal.