EVALUATION OF PARAMETERS AND PROGNOSIS FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH BENIGN EVOLUTION OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS

Introduction: This study aims to analyze cognitive and clinical aspects of Benign MS patients, in order to understand more about this entity in general, as well as its development in the Brazilian reality.

Materials and Methods: We included 60 patients followed in a tertiary MS service, 30 having EDSS below 3.0 and at least 10 years of disease onset. They underwent cognitive evaluation, assessment of mood and fatigue disorders, as well motor disorders.

Results: We found that the majority of BMS patients in this cohort were female, having low mean EDSS (1.9) and good performance on the T25FW and 9HPT motor tests. The prevalence of cognitive deficits was higher in traditional MS than BMS. The frequency of depression was similar in both groups. Furthermore, the use of a more stringent criteria did not show better clinical performance, or better cognitive performance.

Discussion/Conclusion: In conclusion, this work corroborates previous epidemiological findings, regarding other countries, in the Brazilian reality as well. In addition, it shows the high prevalence of non-motor symptoms and cognitive impairment both in classical MS patients and the ones classified as “benign”. Which suggest the need for a different analysis approach in this patient group.  However, the use of a more stringent criteria (EDSS < 3.0 and more than 10 years of disease onset), did not show patients with better performance.