Cognitive impairment in patients with clinically isolated syndrome

Cognitive abnormalities have been extensively studied in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, little is known about the cognitive involvement in patients with Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS). This study aimed to investigate cognitive impairment in patients with CIS compared with healthy subjects. 18 CIS patients and 18 controls were subjected to the Wechsler memory scale, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning, Rey Complex Figure, Paced Auditory Serial Addition, Digit Span, verbal fluency, Stroop color card test, D2, and Digit Symbol tests. CIS patients had significantly worse performance on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) 2 seconds (P=0.009) and on verbal fluency tests (P=0.0038) than controls. CIS patients had worse cognitive performance than controls on neuropsychological tests evaluating executive functioning.