Montreal cognitive assessment in primary sjogren’s syndrome

Abstract

Objectives: To use the Montreal Cognitive Assessment)MoCA(test to assess the subclinical cognitive impairment in patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome)PSS(and assess the correlation of MoCA results with magnetic resonance imaging)MRI(findings in these patients. Methods: The MoCA test was prospectively administered to 32 consecutive patients)31 females, 1 male(diagnosed with PSS and 30 healthy controls)29 females, 1 male(at Antalya Education and Research Hospital between June 2014 and October 2015. Twenty PSS patients underwent a brain MRI)T1, T2, and T2-FLAIR-weighted sequences(. Results: The mean age was 45.84)range 24-63(in the PSS group, and the mean duration of disease was 3.5 years)4 months-18 years(. There were 22 patients)68.80%(with 5-8 years of education and 10 patients)31.30%(with >8 years of education. The mean age was 42.8)28-64(in the control group. There were 20 controls)66.70%(with 5-8 years of education and 10 controls)33.3%(with >8 years of education. The delayed recall rate of the patient group with 5-8 years of education was significantly lower than that of the control group, and the recall rate with multiple choice cues for the same patient group was significantly higher than that of the control group)p<0.05(. There was no correlation between the number of lesions and total MoCA score or subgroups. Conclusion: We suggest that the MoCA test is a single-page, easy-to-administer test, can be used to assess cognition in patients with PSS especially in large groups.

Cognitive dysfunction in Sjögren’s syndrome using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Questionnaire and the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics: A cross‐sectional study

“…Contrary to the ANAM, the use of MoCA has been reported once in pSS. Kurtuluş et al 6 reported MoCA scores in 32 pSS patients with a prevalence of abnormal scores of 34.3% similar to our cohort (42.4%). This cohort had a short disease duration (3.5 years) which may suggest that cognitive dysfunction appears early after disease diagnosis.…”

“…We found an abnormal MoCA prevalence of 42% in patients with pSS, which was similar compared to the sSS and control groups (Table 2) Cognitive dysfunction in SS has been linked with frontal-subcortical dysfunctions, which include deficits in attention, memory, information processing speed, and executive functions. 6 This may partially explain why only certain subdomains had an abnormal score, and why the total score may not be categorized as cognitive impairment. Other studies have found similar results not encountering differences in the total score of the tests but abnormal subdomain results in frontal-subcortical dysfunction areas.…”

“…MoCA is a screening tool used to assess the early stages of cognitive dysfunction which takes approximately 10 minutes to administer and explores 6 cognitive domains: memory, spatial visual capacity, executive function, attention, concentration, memory, language and orientation. 6 The score has a range of 0 to 30 points, and the highest score reflects better cognitive function. We defined mild cognitive impairment as a score ≤26 and moderate-severe cognitive impairment as a score ≤24 as previously determined in a Mexican population.…”

“…Prevalence of these manifestations is widely variable (8.5%‐70%), partly due to different definitions of neurological syndromes, diagnosis tools, and lack of standardized assessment 4 . Different tools and tests have been employed to diagnose cognitive dysfunction in SS including imaging techniques, like single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neurological assessment tests 5‐7 . Many of the available modalities are time‐consuming, expensive, and not readily available.…”

“…Contrary to the ANAM, the use of MoCA has been reported once in pSS. Kurtuluş et al6 reported MoCA scores in 32 pSS patients…”