cognitive decline

The presence of paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs), which represent areas of damage in the brain and spinal cord with chronic active inflammation, may help identify people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are more likely to have cognitive decline over time. That’s according to four-year data presented by Hannah Schwartz,…

Researchers have developed computer algorithms that may be able to predict certain aspects of cognitive change in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The prediction models, constructed using data from an electronic, self-administered test of information processing speed given MS patients, might accurately identify those likely to experience cognitive worsening over…

Note: This story was updated March 29, 2023, to correct that cognitive function was assessed via questions about memory and three other cognition outcomes. Sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and sleepiness may contribute to self-reported cognitive decline in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests.

Disease severity, brain volume loss, and brain lesions are able to predict later cognitive declines in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a study in China found. The study, “Clinical and MRI predictors of cognitive decline in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a 2-year longitudinal study,”…

In this installment of our “Expert Voices” series, Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked Meghan Beier, PhD, a rehabilitation neuropsychologist who teaches skills and techniques to improve patients’ quality of life, to answer some of your questions related to fatigue for people with multiple sclerosis (MS).  Beier is a psychologist specializing…

Multiple sclerosis (MS)-associated inflammation in the cerebral cortex — the outermost layer of the brain that is involved in cognitive function — prompts the destruction of neural connections by specific immune cells, according to a study in a mouse model of MS. These immune cells targeted dendritic spines (nerve…

Changes in the amount of grey matter in specific regions of the brain appear to occur early in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), while structural changes in white matter happen late in disease progression. These were among the findings of a recent study that tracked the sequence of events in…

Ocrevus Use Rises Among New Starters with RRMS, Loses Ground to Other Therapies in PPMS Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) bolted out of the starting gate after it was approved for use in the U.S. about three years ago. However, though its use by people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis continues…

Progressive cognitive decline in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may not be as inevitable as previously thought, a study suggests. The study, “A longitudinal study of cognitive function in multiple sclerosis: is decline inevitable?,” was published in the Journal of Neurology. Statistics indicate that some kind…

The European Commission has approved Novartis‘s Mayzent (siponimod) as the first oral treatment for adults with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Active SPMS is defined by the presence of evident relapses or the detection of inflammatory activity in brain lesions on imaging scans. “As the only indicated oral therapy proven for…

An ability to speak more than one language may help to protect people with multiple sclerosis (MS) against the cognitive decline caused by the disease, new research suggests. The study, “Multiple sclerosis and bilingualism: Some initial findings,” showed that MS patients who speak two languages (bilingual speakers)…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the forum topic “What do you do to help strengthen your cognitive abilities?” from…

My memory is spotty at times. I utter phrases like, “What was I looking for?” more often than I care to admit. I attribute my memory lapses to my multiple sclerosis (MS) brain lesions. But is my assumption accurate? What if it is age-related or…

High vitamin D levels predict better cognitive function, while smoking is associated with worse long-term cognitive disability in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), a study suggests. Data from the study was presented by Marianna Cortese, MD, PhD, from the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan…

Using strategies to promote intellectual enrichment among patients with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis could be essential to achieving better cognitive, social, and professional performances during adult life, according to researchers at the University of Florence in Italy. The finding was the subject of an oral presentation titled, “Cognitive reserve is…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the marketing of Cognigram, a medical device developed by the cognitive science company Cogstate to evaluate a patient’s cognitive health. This device may be a…

Multiple sclerosis patients using a cognitive remediation computer training program, part of a controlled trial by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center, had greater improvements in cognitive function than those who used a placebo-training program, according to a presentation at the recent American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada. Problems in attention, memory,…

The ability to assess risk may decline as multiple sclerosis disease status progresses over time, as determined by a recent study from University of Alberta in Canada. Principal investigator Esther Fujiwara, PhD, and lead author of the study, Ashley Radomski, used the game of dice task (GDT) to challenge patients…

A group of researchers led by Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD, and Liana Roberts Stein, PhD, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been working on pathways to trace cognitive decline in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). It has been noted in previous research that brain cells derive energy for maintaining…