A Happy State of Mind

Finger, Stanley

doi:10.1001/archneur.55.2.241

Cited by 48 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Cognitive capacity may have little to do with a patient's sense of global life satisfaction. Indeed, there is a sub-group of MS patients who are severely cognitively impaired yet cheery or indifferent to their circumstances [39,42], exemplified by the so-called euphoria sclerotica syndrome [43]. Such patients may report high HQOL on self-report measures yet exhibit profound physical or cognitive disability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting quality of life in multiple sclerosis: accounting for physical disability, fatigue, cognition, mood disorder, personality, and behavior change

Benedict

Wahlig

Bakshi

et al. 2005

Journal of the Neurological Sciences

469

360

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting quality of life in multiple sclerosis: accounting for physical disability, fatigue, cognition, mood disorder, personality, and behavior change

Benedict

Wahlig

Bakshi

et al. 2005

Journal of the Neurological Sciences

469

360

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Such patient/informant discrepancy has been found in cortical dementia syndromes, such as Alzheimer's disease, where impaired self-awareness or anosognosia is the rule rather than the exception. In MS, anosognosia is a feature of the euphoria syndrome (i.e., cheerful indifference to circumstances), 49 which is associated with impairment on executive function tests 46 and third ventricle width on CT scans. 47 In future studies, the patient and informant forms of the MSNQ might be employed to investigate anosognosia and its correlates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Screening for multiple sclerosis cognitive impairment using a self-administered 15-item questionnaire

Benedict

Munschauer

Linn³

et al. 2003

Mult Scler

294

295

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Since there is a need for cost-effective screening techniques to identify neuropsychological impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and because existing methods require cognitive testing with subsequent interpretation by a neuropsychologist, a brief self-report procedure was developed to screen for neuropsychological impairment in MS. In the first phase of the study, a pool of 80 items was generated based on a literature review and consultation with healthcare professionals. The set was reduced to 15 via Rasch analysis. Using these items, a brief (five minute) MS Neuropsychological Screening Questionnaire (MSNQ), including patient- and informant-report forms, was composed. In phase II, 50 MS patients and their caregivers completed the MSNQ. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was also administered. Analyses covered the reliability of the MSNQ and correlations between both patient- and informant-report scores and objective neuropsychological testing. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.93 and 0.94 for the patient- and informant-report forms, respectively, and both forms of the test were strongly correlated with a more general cognitive complaints questionnaire. The patient MSNQ form correlated significantly with measures of depression but not with objective tests of cognitive function. In contrast, the informant form was correlated with patient cognitive performance but not depression. A cut-off score of 27 on the informant form of the MSNQ optimally separated patients based on a neuropsychological summary score encompassing measures of processing speed and memory. There were two false-negatives and one false-positive, giving the test a sensitivity of 0.83 and a specificity of 0.97. It is concluded, therefore, that this self-administered neuropsychological screening test is reliable and predicts neuropsychological impairment in MS patients with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

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“…55,59 Neurogenic euphoria has been observed in MS patients for well over a century. 60 Using inform-ant-based, structured interviews such as the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, we and others have found euphoria to be present in roughly 5 to 10% of MS patients. 61,62 Both organic personality disorder and euphoria sclerotica are more prevalent in patients with greater degrees of brain atrophy and cognitive impairment.…”

Section: Clinical Presentation Of Dementia In Msmentioning

confidence: 91%

Multiple Sclerosis

Benedict¹,

Bobholz²

2007

Semin Neurol

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that commonly leads to inflammatory and atrophic brain pathology, often causing cognitive impairment. MS-associated cognitive impairment was first described over a century ago. However, with the advent of standardized neuropsychological testing and quantitative brain imaging, the frequency, quality, and correlates of cognitive impairment are better understood. Dementia is rare in MS, although it is known to occur in 10 to 25% of patients. Our data suggest a frequency of 22% among clinic attendees. In addition to the cognitive impairments evident in MS dementia, changes in personality and social behavior also occur. For example, some patients develop euphoria sclerotica and marked deficiency in social empathy, conditions that in combination with executive dysfunction cause considerable hardship for patients and caregivers. These neuropsychiatric manifestations of MS dementia are correlated with magnetic resonance imaging indicators of brain atrophy, including ventricle enlargement, neocortical volume, and normalized whole brain volume. Recent developments in pharmacological treatment for disease progression and management of cognitive symptoms hold promise for patients suffering from the degenerative aspects of MS.

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A Happy State of Mind

Cited by 48 publications

References 24 publications

Predicting quality of life in multiple sclerosis: accounting for physical disability, fatigue, cognition, mood disorder, personality, and behavior change

Predicting quality of life in multiple sclerosis: accounting for physical disability, fatigue, cognition, mood disorder, personality, and behavior change

Screening for multiple sclerosis cognitive impairment using a self-administered 15-item questionnaire

Multiple Sclerosis

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