Outcomes on Social and Classic Cognition in adults with Pediatric-onset Multiple Sclerosis.

ABSTRACT Background Cognitive impairment affecting classic and social domains has been consistently reported in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, little is known about the cognitive outcomes, particularly on social cognition, in adults with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS). Objectives To compare the performance in classic and social cognitive domains between adults with POMS and adult-onset MS (AOMS). Methods A group of 30 patients with POMS (age onset Results Cognitive impairment was more prevalent in POMS patients (40% vs. 16.7%, p=0.045), independently of age or disease duration, affecting more severely information-processing speed and visual memory domains. No statistically significant differences were found in ToM performance between patients with POMS and AOMS. When analyzing ToM performance according to age of disease onset (≤15 years; 15-20 years; ≥20 years), patients with disease onset ≤15 years old had significantly lower scores on ToM tests when compared to the other groups. Conclusion Patients with POMS were more prone to develop impairment on classic cognitive domains than on ToM ability, when compared with AOMS patients. The interference of POMS with critical neurodevelopmental periods, specific for each cognitive domain, may explain different outcomes at adulthood on social and classic cognition.