Abstract
Background and purpose
Attention is one of the major cognitive domains adversely affected in multiple sclerosis
(MS). The aim of the current study was to determine the effect of a single dose of
methylphenidate on cognitive performance of MS patients with significant attention
deficit.
Methods
In a double-blind placebo-controlled study design, 26 MS patients with impaired attention
were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of 10 mg methylphenidate or placebo.
Attention was assessed using the paced auditory serial addition test for 3 and 2 s
(PASAT3″ and PASAT2″) at baseline and 1 h after drug/placebo administration.
Results
Methylphenidate significantly improved performance of both PASAT3″ and PASAT2″ tests
by 22.8% and 25.6% respectively (p<0.001), while no significant changes were observed in placebo treated patients.
Conclusion
Administration of a single dose of methylphenidate significantly improved attention
in MS patients with considerable attention deficit.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
August 20,
2008
Received in revised form:
August 3,
2008
Received:
March 30,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
