Cognitive Functions Associated with Brain Imaging Markers in Patients with Psoriasis

Luiza Marek-Jozefowicz, Adam Lemanowicz, Małgorzata Grochocka, Monika Wróblewska, Katarzyna Białczyk, Katarzyna Piec, Grzegorz M. Kozera, Zbigniew Serafin, Rafał Czajkowski and Alina Borkowska
Additional contact information
Luiza Marek-Jozefowicz: Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Faculty of Medicine, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Ludwik Rydygier, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Adam Lemanowicz: Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Małgorzata Grochocka: Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Faculty of Medicine, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Ludwik Rydygier, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Monika Wróblewska: Department of Health Economics, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Katarzyna Białczyk: Department of Health Economics, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Katarzyna Piec: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Grzegorz M. Kozera: Medical Simulation Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębowa 17 Street, 80-208 Gdańsk, Poland
Zbigniew Serafin: Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Rafał Czajkowski: Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Faculty of Medicine, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Ludwik Rydygier, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Alina Borkowska: Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-067 Bydgoszcz, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-10

Abstract: Psoriasis is a severe inflammatory disease associated with a higher comorbidity of depression, cognitive dysfunction and brain atrophy. The association between psoriasis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers and cognitive impairment has rarely been investigated, and the existing results are conflicting. Methods. This study included 89 subjects (53 patients with psoriasis and 36 healthy controls). The severity of psoriasis was evaluated using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score; for depression, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scale was used. Neuropsychological tests were also applied, including a Trail Making Test (TMT) as well as Digit Span, Stroop, Verbal Fluency and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning tests. MRI scans were performed using a 1.5 T scanner. Brain volumetry, white matter lesions, grey matter and white matter were evaluated. The extent of these changes was assessed on the Fazekas scale. The differences between groups were evaluated using a Student’s t -test and a Mann-Whitney U test, and a Pearson correlation analysis was also performed. Results. Patients with psoriasis presented worse achievements on all the neuropsychological tests and showed more intense changes on MRI compared to healthy controls. The severity of psoriasis as determined by PASI scores was associated with depression, and a greater psychomotor slowness severity of changes in the brain was associated with poorer results on the neurological tests. Conclusions. Our results indicate the possibility of progressive brain atrophy related to cognitive decline in psoriasis.

Keywords: psoriasis; neuropsychological test; brain MRI correlates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/5687/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/5687/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:9:p:5687-:d:810288

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().