To evaluate the progression of cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis
(MS) patients and the susceptibility of the Multiple Sclerosis Functional
Composite (MSFC) Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) to change, we
conducted a 1-year follow-up with a comprehensive neuropsychological
examination to 19 initially cognitively impaired and 26 cognitively intact
relapsing–remitting MS patients, and to 48 healthy controls. The
results indicated that the cognitive performance of MS patients remained
relatively stable. Healthy controls tended to perform better on most
neuropsychological measures at follow-up, the same was not observed in the
MS groups. PASAT showed a significant difference between the groups: the
cognitively impaired group tended to deteriorate, whereas the control
group and the cognitively intact group improved. The change in PASAT could
not be explained by the background variables, for example, mood, quality
of life, or nervousness. Therefore, the MSFC-PASAT seems to be a sensitive
measure to show clinical change in the cognitive status. (JINS,
2007, 13, 791–798.)