Study of Executive Functions in People with Multiple Sclerosis -Comparative Study Between Sporadic and Progressive Types

Abstract

Sclerosis is a chronic neurological disease that affects the central nervous system and affects the brain and spinal cord, causing damage to the membrane surrounding the neurons called myelin; This leads to sclerosis in cells and thus slow or halt the movement of mobile neurons between the brain and the body's organs. Symptoms of sclerosis appear abruptly for the patient and those around him, and the symptoms vary in severity depending on the degree and place of infection In recent years, researchers and neurologists have become increasingly interested in the psychological, neurological and cognitive aspects of the disease, Studies indicate that MS sufferers are characterized by a gradual and total deterioration including executive functions, including cessation, planning and mental flexibility, These mental activities are intertwined, closely interrelated and help to adapt to one's environment, where our study aims to explore the most prominent disorders that affect executive functions in people with multiple sclerosis. To answer the research questions, we relied on the descriptive method, where the study sample included two cases of people with this disease. We performed a comparative study between the intermittent type and the secondary evolutionary type. We used two tests specific to executive functions, namely the Trail Tracking Test (TMT) and the Rapid Battery of Frontal Efficacy (BREF). The results showed a difference in the type and severity of executive function disorders among those with multiple sclerosis in both types, intermittent and secondary progressive.