Multiple sclerosis: What is it and how can it affect cognitive functioning?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative and inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS), which affects the brain and the spinal cord. Approximately 2.8 million people are living with MS worldwide (Walton et al., 2020), making it the most common disabling neurological disease amongst younger adults (typically diagnosed between the ages of 20–40).
People with MS can potentially experience various different symptoms, depending on the location and extent of their CNS atrophy. Some commonly experienced symptoms include sensory impairments (e.g., visual impairments), fatigue, bladder or bowel dysfunction, tremor, lack of balance, disrupted coordination of voluntary muscle movements, and limb weakness (Huang et al., 2017). In addition to physical symptoms, 40–60% of people with MS also experience cognitive impairment (Macías Islas & Ciampi, 2019).
Yet, MS was long treated as a purely physical disability. It was only in recent decades that cognitive impairment gained widespread recognition by the research community. This is crucial as it more accurately reflects the lived experience of people with MS, and because cognitive impairment (if present) can strongly impact daily functioning, social relationships, employment outcomes, and quality of life.
My current research investigates the underlying mechanisms of (1) the performance of people with MS on formal cognitive assessments, (2) their self-reported cognitive difficulties in everyday life, and (3) any differences between the two. Please check out this blog post I wrote for my lab, if you are interested in learning more about
- what happens in the CNS of people with MS
- the cognitive domains potentially affected by MS
- how self-reported cognitive difficulties and performance on formal cognitive assessments may diverge
- how cognitive impairment, fatigue, and depression may interact in MS
- how a person’s cognitive abilities prior to the onset of MS may affect cognitive functioning after the diagnosis
Further useful resources are provided by the MS Societies of Ireland, UK, and Canada, and by the MS International Federation, amongst others.
References
Huang, W.-J., Chen, W.-W., & Zhang, X. (2017). Multiple sclerosis: Pathology, diagnosis and treatments. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 13(6), 3163–3166. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2017.4410
Macías Islas, M. Á., & Ciampi, E. (2019). Assessment and impact of cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis: An overview. Biomedicines, 7(1), 22. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines7010022
Walton, C., King, R., Rechtman, L., Kaye, W., Leray, E., Marrie, R. A., Robertson, N., La Rocca, N., Uitdehaag, B., van der Mei, I., Wallin, M., Helme, A., Angood Napier, C., Rijke, N., & Baneke, P. (2020). Rising prevalence of multiple sclerosis worldwide: Insights from the Atlas of MS (3rd edition). Multiple Sclerosis, 26(14), 1816–1821. https://doi.org/10.1177/1352458520970841
