The Neuropsychological Dimensions of Postinfectious Neuromyasthenia (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome): A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Postinfectious neuromyasthenia (PIN) is a clinical syndrome of protracted and incomplete recovery after an apparent viral-like illness. Medical investigation yields few abnormalities which might account for the symptomatology. A substantial number of PIN patients complain of cognitive changes. Specific complaints include impaired attention, concentration and abstraction skills. This study was designed to systematically investigate whether the aforementioned subjective complaints could be quantified objectively using standard neuropsychological instruments. Results indicated that on all tests but one, the subjects' performances were significantly higher than those of their age matched groups in the normative data. Specifically, PIN patients scored significantly better than their age matched norms on tests of concentration, attention and abstraction. What is most striking is the discrepancy between the subjective complaints of cognitive impairment and the objective results of the subjects' performances on all tests. These findings suggest that psychological factors may play an important role in the cognitive functioning of individuals diagnosed with postinfectious neuromyasthenia.

Neurocognitive functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome

“…Patients with CFS exhibited mild impairments on some tests of concentration and attention (e.g., backward digit span) but not on others (e.g., serial 7's). However, Altay et al (1990) in a study of 21 patients with postinfectious neuromyasthenia (PIN) found that PIN patients consistently scored significantly above established norms for aged-matched controls on measures of attention, concentration, and abstraction.…”

Neurobiological aspects of the chronic fatigue syndrome

“…Some have found a wide range of impairment [59] or more restricted deficits [61,62]. Other have failed to find any evidence of abnormality [63,64]. The most comprehensive study to date comes from the NIH Cognitive Neuroscience Unit.…”

Cognitive impairment in patients with chronic fatigue: a preliminary study.

“…"3 Hence some degree of cognitive impairment in chronically fatigued patients is to be expected. Four 16 published a preliminary report on 21 subjects and found no impairment in a timed test of attention, coupled with scores in the superior range on two subtests of the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R) and other measures of language and abstraction. This curious result is best explained by the selection of cases being biased towards those of high occupational status.…”