Brief Cognitive Monitoring in Multiple Sclerosis Patients in Latvia

Abstract

Cognitive changes are common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The neuropsychological testing requires specialised trained staff, time-consuming expert analysis and complicated test result interpretation. An expert committee recommended the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS), which is optimised for small centres. We conducted the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVMT), for which the results were comparable with similar results in literature. Most MS patients showed decreased attention and processing speed, while visual memory was generally normal. Cognitive impairment occurrence is not strongly related to Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score.