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Dementia in Multiple Sclerosis

  • Chapter
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases

Part of the book series: Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Neurological Disease ((NSND))

Abstract

Dementia in multiple sclerosis is not a well-defined condition as it may refer to different clinical situations. In addition, as the term has now disappeared from the last version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), dementia may be now defined as a major neurocognitive disorder leading to significant alteration of social and/or physical independence that could be explained from a pathophysiological point of view as a cortico-subcortical multiple disconnection syndrome. Today, there was no informative prospective study permitting to establish the prevalence of dementia in MS. However, according to the literature, major neurocognitive disorder significantly limiting daily life activities, social relationships, or patient’s ability to work may be higher than previously suspected in MS patients, especially in the progressive forms of the disease. Sometimes, early rapid and severe cognitive impairment may be the initial or the main manifestation of the disease. Patient’s cognitive profile in case of major neurocognitive disorder does not differ from what is known about cognitive impairment in MS including major alteration of information processing speed. Prospective multicenter studies would be useful to better define the frequency and time of occurrence of dementia in this disease. Other main challenges for the future should be the identification of modifiable risk factors for severe cognitive impairment and the goal of reducing cognitive disability progression through new therapeutic procedures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University Hospital Center of Caen, Avenue de la CĂ´te de Nacre, CS 30001, 14033, Caen Cedex 9, France

    Gilles Defer MD & Pierre Branger MD

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  2. Pierre Branger MD
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Correspondence to Gilles Defer MD .

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  1. Department of Neurology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pellegrin, INSERM U 862, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Gironde, France

    Bruno Brochet

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Defer, G., Branger, P. (2015). Dementia in Multiple Sclerosis. In: Brochet, B. (eds) Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases. Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Neurological Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18464-7_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18464-7_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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