The 7-year follow-up of the Hungarian BICAMS validation cohort implies that cognitive performance may improve in multiple sclerosis patients

Background Cognitive impairment (CI) is a frequent symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) and has a great impact on the patients’ quality of life, so screening is essential. The brief international cognitive assessment for multiple sclerosis (BICAMS) was developed for this purpose. However, longitudinal data is lacking with the use of the battery. Objective This study is to assess the performance of patients after 5 and 7 years of the original BICAMS validation study and to identify any influencing factors. Methods BICAMS was used to measure cognitive function of 52 relapsing-remitting MS patients (RRMS) from the original validation study after 5 years ( n = 43) and again, after 7 years ( n = 42). Patients filled out the fatigue impact scale (FIS) and multiple sclerosis quality of life-54 (MSQoL-54) questionnaire, and we evaluated expanded disability status scale (EDSS). Results There was an improvement in the BVMT-R and the CVLT-II assessments at both the 5-year ( p