1.Somali woman with multiple sclerosis, a case report
Joyce Pauline Joseph ; Suganthi Cinnasami ; Md Hanip Rafia
Neurology Asia 2017;22(1):81-84
There is variable prevalence of multiple sclerosis, higher in those residing in latitude away from
the equator, and among the Caucasian population. Multiple sclerosis has not been reported in some
countries, partly related to access to modern medicine. Although multiple sclerosis has been reported
among the Somali diaspora, it has not been reported among the residents in Somalia. We report an
adult Somali woman who has relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis for 8 years, affecting the optic
nerves, cerebellum and spinal cord.
Multiple Sclerosis
3.A Narrative Review on Biopsychosocial Predictors of Cognitive Impairment among Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Directions for Malaysia Studies (Satu Tinjauan Naratif Mengenai Peramal Biopsikososial Kemerosotan Kognitif dalam Kalangan Pesakit Sklerosis Berbilang: Halatuju Arah Kajian di Malaysia)
CHONG JIA WEARN ; NORMAH CHE DIN ; JOYCE PAULINE JOSEPH
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2021;19(No.1):21-29
Cognitive impairment is the most disabling symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Researchers have been studying
factors that could predict cognitive impairment among MS patients hoping to alleviate its consequences and gather
indicators of the disease progression. However, there were limited up-to-date articles that review the predictors of
cognitive impairment among MS patients. In Malaysia, the topic about cognitive functioning in MS was absent. This
review aims to identify and synthesize the research evidence concerning biopsychosocial variables on cognitive
impairment among this population for future directions in Malaysia researches. A narrative review was performed by
identifying research articles from year 2004 to 2019 through PubMed, EBSCOhost, Scopus and Google Scholar. Fulltext articles meeting the selection criteria were included for qualitative synthesis. A total of 12 studies were included.
Studies included in this paper found that age, course of disease and anxiety predicts cognitive functioning. Mixed results
were found among variables such as gender, disability, fatigue, burden of lesion, depression and educational level.
Stress was correlated with cognitive functioning but it was not a significant predictor. Although many factors were found
to affect cognitive functioning among MS patients, evidence provided from this review indicates that their relationships
might not be linear and direct.