Methods: Fifty relapsing-remitting MS patients were
evaluated. Cognitive performance was measured using the Paced Auditory
Serial Addition Test (PASAT), in which information processing speed can
be manipulated by varying the presentation speed of stimuli.
Results: MS
patients with low education performed worse than healthy controls at
faster PASAT speeds. By contrast, no difference was observed between MS
patients with high education and matched healthy controls, regardless of
PASAT speed. Moreover, we found that neither occupational attainment
nor perceived fatigue has an influence on MS patients' cognitive
performance.
Conclusion: These findings provide evidence that higher
education could be protective against MS-associated cognitive deficits
and that high speed PASAT versions are more suitable for identifying
compensatory capacities compared to low speed PASAT versions.
Education helps cognitive reserve. This is similar to what is found in Alzheimer's disease.