ACR Convergence 2025| Video: Rheum for Everyone, Episode 26—Ableism

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Exploring Cognitive Dysfunction in Rheumatology

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“One of the most powerful things we could do is to really validate patients’ experience and acknowledge that brain fog is real and help them to feel supported,” said Dr. Chen.

“Often brain fog is dismissed as laziness, depression or aging,” said Ms. Alore. “I ask you to create a safe space for patients to discuss any cognitive challenges that they may be experiencing.”

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Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD, a graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine, is a medical and science writer in Bloomington, Ind.

References

  1. Oláh C, Schwartz N, Denton C, et al. Cognitive dysfunction in autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Arthritis Res Ther. 2020 Apr 15;22(1):78.
  2. Kratz AL, Whibley D, Kim S, et al. Fibrofog in daily life: An examination of ambulatory subjective and objective cognitive function in fibromyalgia. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020 Dec;72(12):1669–1677.
  3. Whibley D, Williams DA, Clauw DJ, et al. Within-day rhythms of pain and cognitive function in people with and without fibromyalgia: Synchronous or syncopated? Pain. 2022 Mar 1;163(3):474–482.
  4. Meade T, Manolios N, Cumming SR, et al. Cognitive impairment in rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2018 Jan;70(1):39–52.
  5. McDowell B, Marr C, Holmes C, et al. Prevalence of cognitive impairment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A cross sectional study. BMC Psychiatry. 2022 Dec 9;22(1):777.
  6. Vitturi BK, Nascimento BAC, Alves BR, et al. Cognitive impairment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. J Clin Neurosci. 2019 Nov;69:81–87. 
  7. Shin SY, Katz P, Wallhagen M, Julian L. Cognitive impairment in persons with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012 Aug;64(8):1144–1150.
  8. Pankowski D, Wytrychiewicz-Pankowska K, Janowski K, Pisula E. Cognitive impairment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Joint Bone Spine. 2022 May;89(3):105298.
  9. Appenzeller S, Bertolo MB, Costallat LT. Cognitive impairment in rheumatoid arthritis. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol. 2004 Jun;26(5):339–343.
  10. Chen YT, Lescoat A, Devine A, et al. Cognitive difficulties in people with systemic sclerosis: A qualitative study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022 Aug 30;61(9):3754–3765.
  11. Amaral TN, Peres FA, Lapa AT, et al. FRI0488 prevalence and clinical significance of cognitive impairment in systemic sclerosis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2015;74(Supp 2):605.
  12. Chen YT, Lescoat A, Khanna D, Murphy SL. Perceived cognitive function in people with systemic sclerosis: Associations with symptoms and daily life functioning. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2023 Aug;75(8):1706–1714.
  13. Khedr EM, El Fetoh NA, Gamal RM, et al. Evaluation of cognitive function in systemic sclerosis patients: A pilot study. Clin Rheumatol. 2020;39:1551–1559.
  14. National Institutes of Health. Brain Boost Program to improve cognitive function in people with systemic sclerosis. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06880627.

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