Effects on cognition of stereotactic lesional surgery for the treatment of tremor in multiple sclerosis

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Jahanshahi, Marjan | Pieter, Socorro | Alusi, Sundus H.^; | Jones, Catherine R.G.^; | Glickman, Scott^; | Stein, John | Aziz, Tipu | Bain, Peter G.

Affiliations: Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience & Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, The National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, London, UK | The Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, NHS Trust, Merseyside, Liverpool, UK | Current address: Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK | Current address: Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, UK | Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK | Department of Neurosurgery, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, UK | The Movement Disorders and Neurostimulation Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Charing Cross Hospital and Division of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

Note: [] Corresponding author: Prof. Marjan Jahanshahi, Cognitive-Motor Neuroscience Group, Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK. Tel.: +20 7837 3611 ext 3055; Fax: +20 7829 8759; E-mail: m.jahanshahi@ion.ucl.ac.uk

Abstract: Objective: To assess the effect of stereotactic lesional surgery for treatment of tremor in multiple sclerosis on cognition. Methods: Eleven patients (3 males, 8 females) with multiple sclerosis participated in the study. Six subjects comprised the surgical group and five the matched control group. All patients were assessed at baseline and three months using a neuropsychological test battery that included measures of intellectual ability, memory, language, perception and executive function. Results: There were no significant differences between the surgical and control groups and no change from pre to post testing except for a decline in scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), WAIS-R Digit Span and Verbal Fluency in the surgical group. Conclusions: The results indicate that stereotactic lesional surgery does not result in major cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis. However, the decline in MMSE scores, digit span and verbal fluency require further investigation in a larger sample.

Keywords: Multiple sclerosis, cognition, thalamotomy, surgery, tremor

DOI: 10.3233/BEN-2008-0207

Journal: Behavioural Neurology, vol. 20, no. 1-2, pp. 1-9, 2008