The effect of atomoxetine on  cognitive function in patients  with multiple sclerosis

Ehsan Mohammadian Nejad; Effat Amouzadeh; Davood Kashipazha; Gholamreza Shamsaei; Bahman Cheraghian

doi:10.18502/cjn.v22i3.13792

Ehsan Mohammadian Nejad Iranian Center of Neurological Research, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Effat Amouzadeh Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Davood Kashipazha Department of Neurology, Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Gholamreza Shamsaei Department of Neurology, Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Bahman Cheraghian Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/cjn.v22i3.13792

Keywords: Multiple Sclerosis; Cognitive Disorders; Atomoxetine Hydrochloride

Abstract

Background: Recent research shows that most of the patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have cognitive-like disorders. Due to the beneficial effects of atomoxetine on improving cognition in limited animal and human surveys, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of the atomoxetine on improving cognitive disorders of MS.

Methods: This study was a parallel, randomized clinical trial, designed to investigate the effect of atomoxetine drug on the improvement of cognitive impairment (CI) in MS, from April 2021 to March 2022. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 52 participants were involved in the study and then randomly divided in two groups of 26. Experimental group was treated with atomoxetine and the control group was treated with placebo. The Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in Multiple Sclerosis (MACFIMS) test was performed for assessment at the beginning and after 3 months. The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), the CVLT-delay, the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) were used to evaluate the CI and changes following medication. Finally, data were analyzed by SPSS software at significance level of 0.05.

Results: The mean age of patients in the experimental group was 37.7 ± 8.5 and in the placebo group was 37.8 ± 7.6 (P = 0.32). The results showed significant changes in cognitive levels before and after the use of atomoxetine and also in comparison to the placebo group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: This study showed that atomoxetine improved the cognitive domains after administration compared to placebo.