[Multiple sclerosis and depression]. / Esclerosis multiple y depresion.

INTRODUCTION: Depression has frequently been reported in multiple sclerosis. However, prevalence rates must be interpreted in the light of the conceptual and methodological limitations of these studies. Depression has traditionally been associated with response to the diagnosis of this disease, the presence of physical and cognitive limitations, the damage of specific neural systems and inmunomodulatory therapy. AIMS: To assess the evolution of emotional state and its relationship with motor and cognitive slowness, in relapsing remitting patients with minimal levels of neurological disability. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data are reported for 35 patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, 27 treated with interferons and 8 without interferon treatment. Mood disturbance (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI), physical disability (Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS) and speed of information processing (reaction times) were assessed. The first testing was carried out before the start of treatment and the second testing one year later. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The group of patients showed a total BDI score indicative of minimal depression associated with items expressing performance difficulties and somatic complaints. Emotional state was not related to physical disability but was related to processing speed measures. A significant improvement of depression was observed after one year of treatment with inmunomodulatory therapy.

Esclerosis múltiple y depresión / Multiple sclerosis and depression

Introducción. La presencia de depresión en la esclerosis múltiple se ha descrito frecuentemente. Sin embargo, la prevalencia de este trastorno debe interpretarse teniendo en cuenta las limitaciones conceptuales y metodológicas de los estudios realizados. Habitualmente, la depresión se ha relacionado con la respuesta al diagnóstico de la enfermedad, la presencia de limitaciones físicas y cognitivas, la afectación de determinados sistemas neurales y la aplicación de diversos tratamientos inmunomoduladores. Objetivos. Evaluar el estado emocional en pacientes de curso remitente-recidivante con un nivel de discapacidad mínimo, así como su evolución y la relación con el enlentecimiento cognitivo y motor. Pacientes y métodos. Se estudiaron 35 pacientes con esclerosis múltiple remitenterecidivante, 27 tratados con interferones y ocho sin tratamiento. Se valoró el estado de ánimo (inventario de depresión de Beck, BDI), la discapacidad física (escala del estado de disfunción ampliada de Kurtzke, EEDA) y la velocidad de procesamiento (tiempos de reacción). La primera exploración se realizó paralelamente al inicio del tratamiento y la segunda, un año después. Resultados y conclusiones. El grupo de pacientes mostró una puntuación total en el BDI indicativa de depresión leve asociada a los ítems que expresan dificultades de ejecución y quejas somáticas. El estado de ánimo no se relacionaba con el nivel de afectación neurológica, aunque sí con las medidas de velocidad de procesamiento. Se produjo una mejoría significativa en el estado de ánimo después de un año de tratamiento con agentes inmunomoduladores (AU)

Introduction. Depression has frequently been reported in multiple sclerosis. However, prevalence rates must be interpreted in the light of the conceptual and methodological limitations of these studies. Depression has traditionally been associated with response to the diagnosis of this disease, the presence of physical and cognitive limitations, the damage of specific neural systems and inmunomodulatory therapy. Aims. To assess the evolution of emotional state and its relationship with motor and cognitive slowness, in relapsing-remitting patients with minimal levels of neurological disability. Patients and methods. Data are reported for 35 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, 27 treated with interferons and 8 without interferon treatment. Mood disturbance (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI), physical disability (Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale, EDSS) and speed of information processing (reaction times) were assessed. The first testing was carried out before the start of treatment and the second testing one year later. Results and conclusions. The group of patients showed a total BDI score indicative of minimal depression associated with items expressing performance difficulties and somatic complaints. Emotional state was not related to physical disability but was related to processing speed measures. A significant improvement of depression was observed after one year of treatment with inmunomodulatory therapy (AU)