Abstract
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neurological demyelinating disease, which is also the most common disabling neurological condition in adults of working age. A psychiatric comorbidity in MS rises up to 48%.
Wide range of psychiatric diseases can appear in MS patients, from which affective disorders are the most frequent ones. Depression is the most common with the prevalence up to 54%.
The early diagnosis of the psychiatric comorbidity and its therapy (which in the case of depression does not differ from the therapy of a primary mental illness) could improve both mental and physical condition of patients. This could then improve the patients' quality of life.
The modern brain imaging methods are able to identify the neurobiological correlates of affective symptoms and predict depression. The disease can alter the patients personality which changes their self-reflection but also their adherence to the therapy.
One of frequent symptoms is also cognitive deficit, which could be present even if the brain tissue appears intact. In this case the diagnostic tool is fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging).
MS can appear in many different forms, therefore we have to think of its possible diagnosis in each case when a patient suffers from non-specific neuropsychiatric symptoms. (C) 2014, TIGIS Spol. s.r.o. All rights reserved.