Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Neuropsychiatry

Objectives: Brain atrophy & neurodegeneration were reported to be an important & early part of MS-related pathology, which influence physical & cognitive impairment (CI). Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is reported to occur in patients with MS, with poorly understood anatomical correlates. B-mode transcranial sonography (TCS) for brain parenchyma can assess ventricular diameters & echogenicity of the deep grey matter (DGM) in many neurodegenerative disorders. The present study deals with the question of whether TCS can display DGM lesions & whether these sonographic findings relate to physical, cognitive disabilities & occurrence of RLS in patients with RRMS. Methods: Case-control study, conducted on 125 Egyptian subjects, including 54 patients with RRMS, 16 males (29.6%) & 38 females (70.4%), with mean age of 29.22 ± 8.15 SD, mean EDSS of 2.34 ± 1.12 SD & at least 9 years of education. Control group included 71 age-, sex- & educational level-matched healthy volunteers. All participants were subjected to clinical assessment, cognitive evaluation using California verbal leaning & memory test-2nd edition (CVLT-II), Brief visuo-spatial memory test-Revised (BVMT-R), Symbol digit modality test (SDMT) & Controlled oral ward association test (COWAT). In addition to Cambridge-Hopkins restless leg syndrome diagnostic questionnaire-short form-13 (CH-RLSDQ-SF-13) to check the occurrence of RLS. B-mode TCS of the brain parenchyma to evaluate ventricular diameters as parameters of brain atrophy & echogenicity of DGM as parameters of neurodegeneration. The MS patients were subjected to neurostatus evaluation using the modified EDSS

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