Cognitive dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with first-line disease-modifying therapy: a multi-center, controlled study using the BICAMS battery

Multiple sclerosis (MS) can impair cognitive functions even in the early stages. The Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) battery is very short and highly sensitive and can be used to evaluate cognitive status in the disease. Several clinical trials have shown beneficial effects of disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) on long-term cognitive measures which may even reduce cognitive deficits in MS patients. Relapsing remitting MS patients using DMDs were enrolled in the study and monitored for 12 months. BICAMS and the Expanded Disability Status Scale were applied to the study group. We evaluated and monitored 161 newly diagnosed cases of definite MS by the end of the trial. 110 patients (68.2%) were female. One hundred and two healthy subjects (female to male ratio 68:34) were enrolled into the study. MS patients were categorized into three DMT groups: IFNB1-a SC, IFNB1-b, and GA. Mean scores of all three cognitive tests (SDMT, BVMT-R, and CVLT-II) were significantly higher in the control group than in the MS patients. The number of cognitively impaired patients decreased from 31.7 to 21.7% on the basis of CVLT (p = 0.024), and 42 (26.1%) to 30 (18.6%) on the basis of BVMT-R at month 12. A significant difference was determined in terms of cognitive status between MS patients using both IFNB and GA and the healthy control group. Ours is the first study to compare IFNB and GA in terms of evaluating cognitive involvement and to use the BICAMS battery in monitoring treatment.