Background: Cognitive impairment is highly prevalent in multiple sclerosis (MS). Early detection of cognitive dysfunctions using radiological techniques may help in controlling and may prevent such complications.
Objectives: To assess the relationship between cognitive impairment and brain volumes in Egyptian MS patients.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted including 50 Egyptian MS patients with diverse subtypes. Adult patients diagnosed with MS based on revised McDonald's 2017 criteria, free from other neurological or systemic disorder affecting brain structure and had EDSS ≤ 8. The recruited patients were subjected to cognition assessment using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)test and brain volume estimation using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Demographic, clinical, and radiological data were compared using appropriate tests and SPSS software version 26.
Results: Out of 50 MS patients, MOCA was normal in 36% patients and abnormal in 64% patients. As regard regional brain volumes (Cortical, Cortical Normalized, left thalamus, right thalamus and lesion load) were statistically significant smaller in abnormal MOCA patients compared to normal with P-value were (0.004,0.001,0.002,0.001 and 0.004) respectively.
Conclusion: Early estimating brain volume in Egyptian MS patients may help in prediction of cognitive impairment among them. large sample size is required to assess the predictive value of volumetry.