MS in the 21^st Century (MS21) is pleased to announce the publication, in July 2023, of its manuscript summarizing the panel discussions held at European Charcot Foundation (ECF) Annual Meeting 2020, on the topic of cognitive impairment and its impact on the daily lives of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). The paper, titled ‘What is the true impact of cognitive impairment for people living with multiple sclerosis? A commentary of symposium discussions at the 2020 European Charcot Foundation’ is authored by Sarah A. Morrow, Paola Kruger, Dawn Langdon, and Nektaria Alexandri.

The panel discussions highlighted that cognitive symptoms of MS (such as brain fog and memory problems) are under-recognized and have consequently been undermanaged from a clinical perspective. The panel also shared how cognitive impairment in MS has a significant impact on several areas of daily living and patient quality of life. Advocating for a more proactive approach to address, communicate, and manage the cognitive symptoms of MS and the impact that these have on daily living, the panel emphasized that these symptoms should be prioritized as highly as physical disability in both the MS care and clinical drug development setting. In this way, a better quality of life can be promoted for people living with MS and the ‘invisibility’ of cognitive impairment can be lifted.

Published in Neurology and Therapy on July 19, 2023, this paper is available online here:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40120-023-00519-z