[Association between depression and cognitive decline in sclerosis multiplex patients]. / Depresszió és kognitív hanyatlás kapcsolata sclerosis multiplexes betegeknél.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common neuroimmunological disease. In addition to its somatic symptoms, fatigue, mood disorder (depression) and cognitive impairment can be detected. Cognitive impairment significantly affects social relationships, work capacity, quality of life independently of disability. AIM: The aim of our research is to analyse the complex relationship between depression, manifestation of which occurs more often in MS compared to normal population, and cognitive functioning in multiple sclerosis. METHODS: Forty participants (sixteen men, twenty-four women) are MS patients of the Department of Neurology, Semmelweis University. Control group included forty-two age-, gender-, and education-matched subjects (sixteen men, twenty-six women). Patients were screened using MMSE; and verbal learning, visual information processing, attention, short-term and long-term memory were tested. Depression was also assessed. RESULTS: In multiple sclerosis learning, long-term verbal memory and short-term visuospatial memory were impaired compared to control group. Working memory, information processing and attention were found to be intact. Depression scores of MS patients were significantly higher than those of the normal population. Regarding the relationship between depression and cognitive impairment, negative correlation was found between mood and short-term visuospatial memory. CONCLUSION: Results of our research reflect the findings of clinical studies whereas short-term and long-term memory excluding working memory can be impaired in multiple sclerosis. Because of incidence of depression and fatigue and the important role of psychological factors in quality of life, more detailed analysis of the relationship between mood, fatigue and cognitive impairment would be required which is planned in the future.

Strategic infarcts of the thalamus in vascular dementia.

Strategic infarcts or focal hemorrhages involving the paramedian nuclei of the thalamus may alter consciousness and produce complex neuropsychological symptoms such as impairment of memory, attention and motivation. Lesions disrupting the thalamo-prefrontal circuits lead to severe subcortical dementia. We analysed here the clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging data of 19 patients with cerebrovascular lesions in the thalamus. In six patients with bilateral paramedian infarcts, and in two with anterior thalamic infarcts, vascular dementia and severe personality changes developed. SPECT findings did not correlate with the neuropsychological symptoms. Transcortical sensory and motor aphasia was observed in four patients with thalamic hemorrhages and infarcts. In these patients SPECT detected hypoperfusion in adjacent cortical areas. Clinical symptoms and outcome of four patients are reported in detail. The clinico-morphological correlations of the thalamo-cortical circuits are reviewed and the possible causes of multiple cognitive and behavioural consequences of vascular thalamic lesions are discussed.