Cognitive Impairment in Young Multiple Sclerosis and Essential Tremor Patients:  A Comparative Study

Hakan Serdar Şengül; Yıldızhan Şengül; Selma Yücel; Hulki Forta

doi:10.4274/tnd.46704

Hakan Serdar Şengül¹, Yıldızhan Şengül², Selma Yücel³, Hulki Forta⁴

¹Gaziosmanpaşa Taksim First Aid Training and Research Hospital, Clinic of Psychology, İstanbul, Turkey
²Bezmialem Vakıf University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Clinic of Neurology, İstanbul, Turkey
³Ezine State Hospital, Clinic of Neurology, Çanakkale, Turkey
⁴Private Sector, Self-employed Neurologist

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis, essential tremor, cognitive impairment, Montreal Cognitive Assessment test

Abstract

Objective: In multiple sclerosis (MS); memory, attention, information processing speed, and executive function deficits associated with cortical demyelination and atrophy can be seen in the early phases. In essential tremor (ET) cognitive impairment associated with cerebral-thalamocortical pathway dysfunction, which is characterized by visuospatial functions, verbal memory, and executive functions were seen. We aimed to evaluate cognitive impairment in patients with MS and ET, and to compare the features of impairment.

Materials and Methods: Thirty patients ET (mean age 27.7±6.8 years), 30 patients with MS (mean age 32.4±6.6 years) and 20 healthy controls (mean age 28.81±7.3 years) were recruited for the study. For assessing cognitive impairment, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test was applied to all participants. For grading the disease, the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin Tremor Rating Scale was used in the ET group, and the Expanded Disability Status Scale was used in the MS group.

Results: The total MoCA mean scores in patients with MS was 22.4±4.34, 25.8±2.7 in patients with ET, and 28.2±1.8 in controls. When we compared the patients with the controls, the patients’ mean score was lower than in the controls. Cognitive impairment in patients with MS was more apparent than in patients with ET. Naming, attention, language, and delayed recall subgroups in patients with MS were more affected than in patients with ET.

Conclusion: In this present study, we determined cognitive impairment can be seen in both group of patients, and MS can cause more prominent deficit than ET. In addition, our study confirms that cognitive impairment in MS and ET can be detected using the MoCA test.