TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive reserve moderates decline in information processing speed in multiple sclerosis patients
AU - Benedict, Ralph H.B.
AU - Morrow, Sarah A.
AU - Weinstock Guttman, Bianca
AU - Cookfair, Diane
AU - Schretlen, David J.
PY - 2010/9/1
Y1 - 2010/9/1
N2 - Cognitive reserve is widely recognized as a moderator of cognitive decline in patients with senile dementias such as Alzheimers disease. The same effect may occur in multiple sclerosis (MS), an immunologic disorder affecting the central nervous system. While MS is traditionally considered an inflammatory, white matter disease, degeneration of gray matter is increasingly recognized as the primary contributor to progressive cognitive decline. Our aim was to determine if individual differences in estimated cognitive reserve protect against the progression of cognitive dysfunction in MS. Ninety-one patients assessed twice roughly 5 years apart were identified retrospectively. Cognitive testing emphasized mental processing speed. Cognitive reserve was estimated by years of education and by performance on the North American Adult Reading Test (NAART). After controlling for baseline characteristics, both years of education (p =.013) and NAART scores (p =.049) significantly improved regression models predicting cognitive decline. Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) performance showed no significant change in patients with > 14 years of education, whereas it declined significantly in patients with ≤ 14 years of education. We conclude that greater cognitive reserve as indexed by either higher premorbid intelligence or more years of education protects against the progression of cognitive dysfunction in MS. (JINS, 2010, 16, 829-835.)
AB - Cognitive reserve is widely recognized as a moderator of cognitive decline in patients with senile dementias such as Alzheimers disease. The same effect may occur in multiple sclerosis (MS), an immunologic disorder affecting the central nervous system. While MS is traditionally considered an inflammatory, white matter disease, degeneration of gray matter is increasingly recognized as the primary contributor to progressive cognitive decline. Our aim was to determine if individual differences in estimated cognitive reserve protect against the progression of cognitive dysfunction in MS. Ninety-one patients assessed twice roughly 5 years apart were identified retrospectively. Cognitive testing emphasized mental processing speed. Cognitive reserve was estimated by years of education and by performance on the North American Adult Reading Test (NAART). After controlling for baseline characteristics, both years of education (p =.013) and NAART scores (p =.049) significantly improved regression models predicting cognitive decline. Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) performance showed no significant change in patients with > 14 years of education, whereas it declined significantly in patients with ≤ 14 years of education. We conclude that greater cognitive reserve as indexed by either higher premorbid intelligence or more years of education protects against the progression of cognitive dysfunction in MS. (JINS, 2010, 16, 829-835.)
KW - Brain
KW - Cognitive reserve
KW - Multiple sclerosis
KW - Neuropsychology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79451472083&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79451472083&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S1355617710000688
DO - 10.1017/S1355617710000688
M3 - Article
C2 - 20609273
AN - SCOPUS:79451472083
VL - 16
SP - 829
EP - 835
JO - Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
JF - Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
SN - 1355-6177
IS - 5
ER -