Understanding the Cognitive Impacts of Multiple Sclerosis - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Understanding the Cognitive Impacts of Multiple Sclerosis

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Approximately 2.8 million people around the world are currently living with multiple sclerosis (MS), yet there is still no known cure for the disease. One reason MS is so hard to pin down is that it manifests differently in every person, causing various combinations of symptoms in some and remaining “clinically silent” in others even as the disease worsens. – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Understanding the Cognitive Impacts of Multiple Sclerosis


1
Understanding the Cognitive Impacts of Multiple
Sclerosis
2
  • Approximately 2.8 million people around the world
    are currently living with multiple sclerosis
    (MS), yet there is still no known cure for the
    disease. One reason MS is so hard to pin down is
    that it manifests differently in every person,
    causing various combinations of symptoms in some
    and remaining clinically silent in others even
    as the disease worsens.
  • As with many other diseases that affect
    cognition, there is often a lag between when MS
    begins to develop and when it is diagnosed.
  • What Is Multiple Sclerosis?
  • MS is a disease of the central nervous system
    (CNS), which comprises the brain, spinal cord,
    and optic nerves. For reasons that are not yet
    understood, MS causes the immune system to attack
    the CNS, damaging the myelin sheath that protects
    the nerve fibers that enable communication
    between the CNS and the rest of the body. In
    advanced cases, the nerve fibers themselves
    become damaged.
  • Sites of demyelination and fiber damage are known
    as lesions, and if the damage becomes permanent,
    they turn into scar tissue, or plaque. MS
    progression is affected variously by the size,
    location, and number of these sites.

3
  • MS Disease Progression
  • The majority of MS cases are relapse remitting,
    which means that symptoms flare up for a period
    of time and then recede. A person with this form
    of MS may experience symptom-free periods of up
    to several years. Relapse-remitting MS can either
    remain episodic or evolve into a more serious,
    chronic condition known as secondary-progressive
    MS.
  • Symptoms of MS may include, but are not limited
    to
  • Bladder or bowel dysfunction
  • Changes in sexual response
  • Cognitive issues (e.g., difficulty learning or
    remembering information)
  • Fatigue
  • Difficulty walking
  • Dizziness or vertigo
  • Dysthesesia (feeling of being squeezed around the
    torso)
  • Involuntary muscle spasms
  • Loss of balance or coordination
  • Mood swings or depression
  • Numbness or tingling in parts of the body
  • Pain or itching
  • Slurred speech
  • Tremors
  • Weakness

4
  • How is MS Diagnosed?
  • There are currently no conclusive standalone
    tests that can diagnose MS. Instead, differential
    diagnosisin which diseases with symptoms that
    resemble MS are ruled outis typically pursued.
    Currently, MS diagnosis also requires evidence of
    damage to at least two parts of the CNS that
    occurred during different time periods (e.g.,
    during two different relapses of
    relapse-remitting type).
  • Current diagnostic methods include
  • A thorough review of the patients medical
    history and a neurological exam
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the CNS
    for MS lesions
  • Lumbar puncture to test cerebrospinal fluid for
    proteins commonly associated with MS
  • Blood tests to rule out other diseases with
    symptoms similar to MS
  • Frustratingly for researchers and those living
    with the disease alike, MS is often a moving
    target. Relapse-remitting MS in particular can be
    tricky to catch, with symptoms surfacing,
    receding, and changing over time. Repeat testing
    is often required to detect the presence of
    lesions or changes in their number, position, or
    size that can help doctors diagnose MS or
    pinpoint MS type.

5
  • New testing methods that can discover the
    presence of MS through a single procedure rather
    than through the process of elimination or repeat
    testing, are sorely needed.
  • Understanding MS-Related Cognitive Dysfunction
  • Cognitive changes are some of the first symptoms
    to develop in the early stages of MS, but their
    initial manifestations are often minor and
    therefore overlooked. While MS does not typically
    affect long-term memory, overall intellect,
    reading comprehension, or conversational skill,
    several other cognitive functions may be
    impaired. Common cognitive effects of MS include
  • Brain fog, or a general feeling of confusion,
    forgetfulness, or tuning out
  • Difficulty finding words
  • Difficulty paying attention (especially to more
    than one thing at once)
  • Executive function challenges (e.g., prioritizing
    tasks)
  • Limited spatial awareness
  • Short-term memory problems
  • Cognitive changes typically develop gradually,
    however, so they are often undetected until MS
    has progressed significantly. A person may have
    few or no physical symptoms, yet under the
    surface, their cognitive symptoms may have
    advanced markedly. As with many other diseases
    that impact cognition, early diagnosis is
    critical to improving an MS prognosis. But the
    lack of preventive, affordable cognitive health
    screenings in our present healthcare model
    prevents us from harnessing valuable data that
    could change the lives of those living with the
    disease. ViewMind is working to change all that.

6
  • Plumbing Cognitive Impacts for Clues
  • To date, there is no cure for MS. However, early
    detection and intervention can vastly improve
    disease prognosis, with many medications and
    treatments now available that can halt or slow
    the progression of the disease in its early
    stages. Thus at ViewMind, weve turned the lens
    of our novel eye-tracking technology on MS to see
    what clues to its pathology we might find.
  • In a recent study presented at ECTRIMS2022 in
    Amsterdam, 40 MS patients, completed the ViewMind
    Atlas 15-minute assessment, using virtual reality
    headsets in a two-phase test related to the
    sequencing of visual stimuli. As the patients
    performed the tasks, we monitored their eye
    movement patterns, discovering key differences
    between the individuals with relapse-remitting MS
    at different stages.
  • Combining our eye-tracking analysis with the
    visual sequencing test has allowed ViewMind to
    enrich the identification of clinical features in
    MS, unveil novel features of MS unknown to date,
    and provide more sensitive tools to monitor and
    trace motor and cognitive aspects of patients at
    risk of progression from relapse-remitting MS to
    secondary-progressive MS.
  • By isolating the individual eye-movement patterns
    associated with these two MS types, we have
    created a new window in which to view the effects
    of various disease interventions and hopefully
    reduce the number of progressive cases. With our
    affordable, accessible, and highly scalable
    assessment, we are working to make cognitive
    health care and the opportunity for early,
    definitive diagnosis available to all.
  • Article Resource -https//www.viewmind.com/unders
    tanding-the-cognitive-impacts-of-multiple-sclerosi
    s/
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