Acta Neurochir DOI 10.1007/s00701-014-2100-2
LETTER TO THE EDITOR - FUNCTIONAL
Cognitive deficits in patients with trigeminal neuralgia: opportunities to improve care and quality of life Ikram Meskal & Geert-Jan M. Rutten & Guus N. Beute & Miriam E. Salden & Margriet M. Sitskoorn
Received: 2 April 2014 / Accepted: 10 April 2014 # Springer-Verlag Wien 2014
Cognitive impairments can often be found in patients with chronic pain disorders, in particular when attentional capacity, processing speed, or psychomotor speed are measured [1–3]. These impairments have been shown to affect therapy adherence, personal relationships, daily functioning, capacity for work, leisure activities, mood, and quality of life [4, 5]. Surprisingly, no prior studies have investigated cognitive functioning in patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN). In particular, the subset of patients that are candidates for microvascular decompression (MVD) seem at high risk for cognitive impairments, because of severe, long-standing and medically intractable pain. In this study we examined whether patients with TN that were candidates for MVD showed cognitive deficits. Cognitive function was assessed in 32 patients 1 day prior to surgery, and compared with two control groups of healthy subjects: a normative American control group (n=1,069), and a Dutch control group (n=20). Subjects were administered a computerized neurocognitive test battery (i.e., CNS Vital Sign, www. cnsvs.com) [6]. This battery takes half an hour to administer, examines a wide range of cognitive functions, and generates automatic scores and an immediate report that provides insight into possible cognitive deficits. Patients with TN scored significantly below healthy controls from the normative sample on composite memory, psychomotor speed, reaction time, complex attention, cognitive flexibility, and general cognitive functioning. Comparisons between patients and a control group of Dutch subjects I. Meskal : M. E. Salden : M. M. Sitskoorn Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands G.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR - FUNCTIONAL
Cognitive deficits in patients with trigeminal neuralgia: opportunities to improve care and quality of life Ikram Meskal & Geert-Jan M. Rutten & Guus N. Beute & Miriam E. Salden & Margriet M. Sitskoorn
Received: 2 April 2014 / Accepted: 10 April 2014 # Springer-Verlag Wien 2014
Cognitive impairments can often be found in patients with chronic pain disorders, in particular when attentional capacity, processing speed, or psychomotor speed are measured [1–3]. These impairments have been shown to affect therapy adherence, personal relationships, daily functioning, capacity for work, leisure activities, mood, and quality of life [4, 5]. Surprisingly, no prior studies have investigated cognitive functioning in patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN). In particular, the subset of patients that are candidates for microvascular decompression (MVD) seem at high risk for cognitive impairments, because of severe, long-standing and medically intractable pain. In this study we examined whether patients with TN that were candidates for MVD showed cognitive deficits. Cognitive function was assessed in 32 patients 1 day prior to surgery, and compared with two control groups of healthy subjects: a normative American control group (n=1,069), and a Dutch control group (n=20). Subjects were administered a computerized neurocognitive test battery (i.e., CNS Vital Sign, www. cnsvs.com) [6]. This battery takes half an hour to administer, examines a wide range of cognitive functions, and generates automatic scores and an immediate report that provides insight into possible cognitive deficits. Patients with TN scored significantly below healthy controls from the normative sample on composite memory, psychomotor speed, reaction time, complex attention, cognitive flexibility, and general cognitive functioning. Comparisons between patients and a control group of Dutch subjects I. Meskal : M. E. Salden : M. M. Sitskoorn Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands G.
