ANALYSIS OF ABILITIES COGNITIVE, PRAGMATIC AND MOOD CHANGES IN INDIVIDUALS DIAGNOSED WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Abstract

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that affects the central nervous system, characterized by inflammation, demyelination, and neurodegeneration. Its origin is multifactorial and heterogeneous, involving complex interactions between genetic, environmental, and infectious factors, resulting in an abnormal immune response and, consequently, damage to myelin and axons. These lesions lead to dysfunction in various functional systems, including cognitive, pragmatic, and the manifestation of symptoms of anxiety and depression. Objective: To identify cognitive and pragmatic deficits and assess the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms in individuals with MS, compared to a control group. Method: 52 individuals diagnosed with MS and 52 individuals as control group, matched by gender, age, and education, were recruited. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic and clinical patient data, as well as the following protocols: Functional Assessment of Communication Skills for Adults-ASHA-FACS; Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination – Revised (ACE-R); Beck Depression Inventory – BDI; and Beck Anxiety Inventory – BAI. Results: We observed that the group of MS patients showed worsening in various cognitive domains, except for episodic and semantic memory. In the assessment of pragmatics, we found impairments in all investigated domains, except for communicative interaction, where there was no difference between them. Regarding the evaluation of anxiety and depression symptoms, the MS group obtained significantly higher scores in the corresponding test battery. Conclusion: The results suggest a more significant impact of MS on cognition, pragmatics, anxiety, and depression when compared to the control group.