Does anyone think that CIDP can cause some kind of cognitive impairment?
It is clear that multiple sclerosis as attack the brain neuron has cognitive impairment symptoms.
But CIDP? To me it has.
Some times at work I get completly stucked, fixed thinking nothing,
in that can not remember how to do some works, or data work i knew well how to do them years ago.
I honestly believe it does, but to what extent I'm not sure. I have the same problem. I've rebuilt over 150 computers to give away to clients, but today I'm very unsure of myself. Operation is a piece of cake usually, but sometimes I just forget words and operations and have to quit until I get a handle on it, which may take a couple of days or so. Gary
http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/chronic-inflammatory-demyelinating-polyneuropathy
CIDP is not SUPPOSED to affect the spinal cord or brain. It could be from fatigue or the meds. However, this disease is so rare and little understood, who knows.
I don't think as quick, react as quick, remember as well either. Is it the disease, the meds, or the fatigue, or a little of all of the above. It's not old age . . . I'm only 47.
the stress of learning i had a rapid onset of the disease combined with anti anxiety & sleep meds had me at a loss of words, focus, and normal cognitive functions. Speach was also impacted a bit. As the anxiety & stress went down ( so did my blood pressure :)) i got off of everything except IVIG infusions and my cognitive functions are back to normal
Oh yes, I believe that CIDP affects both the mind and the body. Shortly before I received my diagnosis, my employer gave me THE worst performance review of my career. At the time I was perplexed, but as the CIDP progressed and I find it difficult to make decisions, I forget words I'm trying to say, the ability to spell comes and goes I understand why I was doing such a lousy job. So thanks to all that and the dexterity issues I can no longer work. Due to the fatigue, I've had to get used to not having a clean (some would say overclean) house.
I would tend to agree it may be meds but mine started before I was diagnosed and on the meds. I call it a fog. I canāt think of simple vocabulary, have a hard time processing, and hard time keeping focus. I also noticed my words in sentences come out reversed.
( Ex- I am going to park my garage in the car instead of park my car in the garage.) Now it may be a combination of both meds and disease.
Cognitive impairment is still denied for MS,
who can say for sure is not a CIDP symptom so?
I think the problem start with the MRI. To see the demyelating neurons in the brain is necessary to have the contrast in the blood. That is why MS is found. But not in CIDP MRIs.
I can only say that this "impairment" began shortly before I was diagnosed and I never had the issue before. I have read the statements below and i have to concur that mechanical things/ long lists and vocab have been very effected. Turning around sentences suddenly happens and having the right word clearly in my mind, but it coming out a whole other word happens frequently. I haven't been on treatments or meds, so that can't be the issue.
My worst impairment,that gets me very upset, is when i get lost driving in my car, in my city, to known places.....in steets I have driven before thousa
nds times.
In the case of MS, the target of the immune attack is believed to be a component of myelin in the central nervous system. Myelin is a fatty sheath that surrounds and protects nerve fibers. T-cells, which are one type of white blood cell in the immune system, become sensitized to myelin and cross the blood-brain barrier into the central nervous system (CNS). Once in the CNS, these T-cells not only injure myelin, but secrete chemicals that damage nerve fibers (axons) and recruit more damaging immune cells to the site of inflammation.
It is not known what causes T-cells in persons with MS to become activated but it is postulated that both genetic and environmental factors are important.
Research Directed at Role of Immune System in MS
Scientists have begun to identify the sites or āreceptorsā on the T-cells that bind to the myelin. The precise identification of these receptor sites may help lead to the development of more specific immunosuppressant therapies that destroy these sensitized T-cells while leaving other cells intact.Ā Much of the ongoing research in MS is directed toward finding answers to questions about the role of the immune system in the development of MS.
With CIDP, I don't know. MS has so much more research.
I feel like we are on the Island of of misfits in Rudolf the Rednose Reindeer.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SH1j1luFOw
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Absolutely. I originally went to this neurologist because of my concern about my memory. My mother and grandmother (different sides) both had Alzheimerās or at least a form a dementia. And I was recognizing that I had issues. The tests did not reveal anything serious. However part of my diagnosis is inflammation. Inflammation can lead to many different issues including brain/cognitive issues. Like Gary I forget words. The right word, any word? I look at something 10 times and when I take my eye off of it, I forget it. I just finished up my Associates Degree and would go from studying something and directly to a quiz and totally forget what I read.
I've been seeing neurologist's for the past 50 years for idiopathic epilepsy and have been stable in that area for the past 28 years, but this CIDP has really thrown me for a loop. With only 425 people in Canada with this illness, (including myself) research isn't a priority, so all the information I've collected is from the U.S. and I was going to make a point here but forgot what it was, if I recover it I'll make a point of writing it down. Gary
I like the comment about being from "the Island of Misfit Toys" because I do feel that is the only place I would belong. Not only do I feel funny in the head - I know of no other way to describe it and I am a nurse - the mental impairment is horrific. I can still function in my job, but verbally I feel like a toddler most of the time trying to communicate and I am so frustrated by the inability to come up with the words or phrases I want!! My spelling has declined, I can't hold a decent conversation, and thankfully work with babies so I don't have to talk to them. My disease had a great impact on my marriage and subsequent divorce, and now even my children are so frustrated trying to talk to me it is no longer a pleasure to talk to them. It makes for such a lonely life. :/
Agnosia
Agnosia is the inability to recognize certain objects, persons or sounds, yet there are many more specific diagnoses of agnosia. Agnosia is typically caused by damage to the brain (most commonly in the occipital or parietal lobes) or from a neurological disorder. Treatments vary depending on the location and cause of the damage. Recovery is possible depending on the severity of the disorder and the severity of the damage to the brain.[1] Some examples of specific types of Agnosia include: Visual Agnosia, Auditory Agnosia, Prosopagnosia, Somatosensory agnosia, Simultanagnosia, Apraxia, Associative visual agnosia, etc.
Other issue is that since have CIDP, have no feeling of time.
Past, present and future do not mind me.
IĀ“m time timeless.
Kitty. Yes i was tested for Lyme, even iĀ“m in Uruguay free of this disease.
My neuro is senior/fellow MS neuro/inmunologist. He tested me for any posible cause for neuropathy, about 30 blood test were done. He is the head of the Latin American MX sclerosis society.
Cayanko, if we told someone we had breast cancer (or as a man prostate cancer), or something "real" we would have something they knew about; tangible. But CIDP is so rare, they can't understand. I went to a new neuro muscular specialist at The Emory Clinic. He was familiar w/CIDP but not really. Had never SEEN someone with it. He questioned whether I even had it. Then I questioned whether I really have it. I have lost pretty much all of my friends and family. Doctors and pills pretty much consume my life. Yesm the island of misfits is where I feel like I belong.