Abstract

The contents of this study refers to clinical and research work carried out at the Institute of Neurological Sciences CNR (National Research Council). Researchers study degenerative diseases of the nervous system here both from a genetic and biochemical stand point.2) At the institute patients undergo genetic tests: DNA tests, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychological tests. My particular field is the study of the psychological mechanisms and evolution of cognitive functions in these pathologies. Our work contributes to the clinical diagnosis of the disease as well as the scientific research of the illness. 3) The authors of the present study area psychologista geneologista biologista neurologist4) Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. It causes destruction of myelin ( a protein that forms a protective coating around nerve cells) in the central nervous system. When myelin is destroyed signals traveling through the nerve cells are interrupted or delayed, resulting in various neurologic symptoms occurring at different locations throughout the body. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40, but the unpredictable physical and emotional effects can be life long. MS is often characterized by a pattern of exacerbation and remission. 5) Possible symptoms include fatigue, loss of coordination, muscle weakness, spasticity, numbness, slurred speech, visual difficulties, paralysis, muscle cramps, bladder or bowel problems and sexual dysfunction.The initial symptoms of MS are most often difficulty walking, abnormal sensations such as "pins and needles", pain and loss of vision due to optic neuritis, an inflammation of the optic nerve. Less common initial symptoms may include tremor, lack of coordination, slurred speech, sudden onset of paralysis, similar to a stroke, a decline in cognitive function.6)Few authors have specifically considered the impact of cognitive dysfunction on a patient's every-day life, rather focusing on disease-related motor disabilities. There is now abundant evidence to suggest that cognitive dysfunction has a significant impact on the MS patient's quality of life above and beyond the physical symptoms of the disease. The observation that cognitive and physical symptoms are not correlated in MS patients suggest that one cannot predict the severity of cognitive dysfunction from the neurological examination, hence the importance of neuropsychological testing. This leaves unanswered crucial questions about the natural history of intellectual decline and its relationships with the evolution of neurological impairment starting from the onset of the disease.

Autore Pugliese

• Liguori Maria

Tutti gli autori

• ROMEO N.; TAGARELLI G.; SPADAFORA P.; LIGUORI M.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Activitas nervosa superior rediviva

Anno di pubblicazione

2014

ISSN

1337-933X

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Numero di citazioni Scopus

Non Disponibile

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Settori ERC

Non Disponibile

Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile