Study Suggests Cognitive Impairment More Likely With Late-Onset Multiple Sclerosis
Patients with late-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) performed worse on most classic and social cognitive domains than patients with adult-onset MS after accounting for patient age and disease duration, according to a study published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.
“This suggests that the later the onset of MS, the worse patient’s visual information-processing speed, visuospatial learning and memory, and ability to determine the complex cognitive mental state of an individual from emotional expressions,” the study authors wrote.
The cross-sectional study included 27 patients with late-onset MS, defined as disease onset after age 50 years, and patients with adult-onset MS, defined as disease onset between age 18 and 50 years. Patients with adult-onset MS were divided into 2 groups of 27 participants each: 1 group matched the late-onset MS group for age, and the other matched the late-onset MS group for disease duration.
Researchers used the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis and the Revised Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test to evaluate the cognitive performance of participants.
After accounting for age and disease duration, both classic and social cognitive performance were generally inferior in the late-onset MS group compared with the adult-onset MS group. Later age of MS onset was negatively associated with performance in all cognitive domains except verbal memory. Researchers suggested the decline in cognitive functioning could be due to the loss of neuroplasticity in an aging brain.
Moreover, the study found that the presence of a singular vascular risk factor in patients was linked with slower information-processing speed and poorer performance on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test.
The study’s findings, researchers advised, “shed light on the significance of early focus on cognitive and social stimulation, physical activity, and management of vascular risk factors as a way to postpone and lessen cognitive impairment in late-onset MS.”
Reference
Oliveira AI, Monteiro IR, Alferes AR, et al. Cognitive outcomes in late-onset versus adult-onset Multiple Sclerosis. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2024;90:105845. doi:10.1016/j.msard.2024.105845
