Evaluation of mental performance and cognitive functions of children and adolescents diagnosed with radiologically isolated syndrome

• Published in: Multiple sclerosis and related disorders Vol. 88; p. 105735
• Main Authors: Alıyev, Nilüfer Okumuş, Kara, Bülent, Güneş, Ayfer Sakarya, Anık, Yonca, Efendi, Hüsnü, Çoskun, Ayşen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-08-2024
• Subjects: Adolescent; Child; Cognition; Cognition - physiology; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnostic imaging; Cognitive Dysfunction - etiology; Cognitive Dysfunction - physiopathology; Demyelinating Diseases - diagnosis; Demyelinating Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Mental health; Multiple sclerosis; Neuropsychological Tests; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Radiologically isolated syndrome; Multiple sclerosis; Cognition; Radiologically isolated syndrome; Child; Mental health; Adolescent
• ISSN: 2211-0348; 2211-0356; 2211-0356
• DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2024.105735

•Disturbances in mental status and cognitive functions have been shown in pediatric and adult MS cases.•Although psychiatric disorders, mainly depression, and other psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, substance misuse, and personality disorders mostly seen in the course of MS have been described in adult RIS cases similar to MS patients, adequate studies have not been conducted in pediatric RIS cases.•In this study, it was shown that sustained attention, visual-motor coordination, short-term memory skills, and ability to use visual-spatial information functions were impaired in pediatric RIS cases.•No relationship was found between psychiatric problems and cognitive dysfunctions in pediatric RIS cases and the number and location of demyelinating lesions.•New studies are needed to understand whether psychiatric and cognitive disorders are risk factors for conversion to MS in pediatric RIS cases.
Radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) is a condition characterized by asymptomatic, incidentally detected demyelinating plaques in the CNS in a patient without typical clinical findings of multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aimed to compare the mental status and cognitive functions of child and adolescent RIS cases with healthy controls and to investigate the relationship between psychometric test results and the demyelinating lesion characteristics.
The mental status and cognitive functions of 12 RIS cases and 12 healthy controls were compared. Semi-structured interviews, behavioral evaluations, depression and anxiety scales, neuropsychological test battery, and an intelligence test were applied for the evaluation of mental state and cognitive functions. These results were compared with the number and localization of demyelinating lesions.
Sustained attention, visual-motor coordination, short-term memory skills, and ability to use visual-spatial information were found worse in the RIS group. There was no correlation between mental state and cognitive functions, and the number and localization of demyelinating lesions.
Our study showed that pediatric RIS cases may have worse cognitive performance than healthy controls, but no correlation was found between the number and location of demyelinating lesions and psychiatric findings. Although it is controversial whether psychiatric disorders and cognitive disabilities have predictive value in terms of MS conversion in pediatric RIS cases, these subjects were not included in the scope of this study.