Examination of High-Level Language Skills in 2 Phases of Multiple Sclerosis (Relapsing-Remitting & Secondary Progressive) in Comparison With Healthy Counterparts.

Background: Language skills compromised after neurological damage, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), significantly impacting patients' quality of life. MS impairs high-level language functioning. Despite existing research, no studies have examined high-level language functions during different phases of the disease. This is crucial for a better understanding of the linguistic profiles of affected patients.

Methods: This descriptive-analytical study included 25 patients with RRMS, 27 patients with SPMS, and 30 healthy individuals (age range, 22-57 years). They were selected based on convenience sampling. All participants were sampled using the Persian version of the high-level language skills assessment test. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the performance of the 3 groups, and the Bonferroni test was employed to make pairwise comparisons between groups.

Results: The Kruskal-Wallis test revealed significant differences in the total score and all subtest scores (P ≤ 0.05), except for the ambiguous sentence comprehension subtest (P ≥ 0.05). The Bonferroni test revealed a significant difference in the total score and all subtest scores (P ≤ 0.05) between healthy individuals and those with SPMS & RRMS, except for the ambiguous sentence comprehension subtest (P ≤ 0.05). Also, no significant differences were found in the total score and all subtest scores between the SPMS and RRMS patients (P ≥ 0.05).

Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the high-level language functions were weaker in MS patients compared to healthy individuals. However, no significant difference was found between the RRMS and SPMS patients.