en Neurology Neurology Original Article Original Article <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height:14pt"><span new="" roman="" times=""><b><i><span style="color:blue">Background</span></i></b><i><span style="color:blue">:</span></i> The present study aimed to address the effect of Rituximab on the cognitive impairment in patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS).<span style="font-size:9.0pt"></span></span></span><br> <span style="line-height:14pt"><span new="" roman="" times=""><b><i><span style="color:blue">Methods:</span></i></b> The present interventional study used a convenience sampling method to select the study participants from SPMS patients. All these patients had progressive disability over the last two years before being admitted in the study. Prior to the administration of Rituximab, the minimal assessment of cognitive function in the multiple sclerosis (MACFIMS) test was performed for each patient who was a candidate to be included in this study. This test was repeated by passing 6 and 12 months from the initial treatment with Rituximab. Since the data needed for this study were obtained at different time intervals, so a linear mixed model was used for their analysis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to investigate whether time and sex generally affect the cognitive impairments in SPMS patients. A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant in this study. </span></span><br> <span style="line-height:14pt"><span new="" roman="" times=""><b><i><span style="color:blue">Results:</span></i></b> Of the total 35 patients, 34% and 66% were men and women with a mean age of 41.33 and 41.39 years old, respectively. Rituximab showed a significant positive effect on a number of subgroups of MACFIMS test, including Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) (P-value: 0.038) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVMT-total) (P- value: 0.019).<b><i><span style="color:blue"></span></i></b></span></span><br> <span style="line-height:14pt"><span new="" roman="" times=""><b><i><span style="color:blue">Conclusion</span></i></b><i><span style="color:blue">:</span></i> The present study revealed that Rituximab has a positive effect on the cognitive impairment resulted from MS in secondary progressive patients.<b><i><span style="color:#0033cc"></span></i></b></span></span><br> &nbsp;</span></span> Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS), Rituximab, MACFIMS, Cognitive impairment 484 489 http://caspjim.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-646-10&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Saeideh Salehizadeh s.salehizadeh@yahoo.com 100319475328460037520 100319475328460037520 No Multiple Sclerosis Research Center; Neuroscience institute; Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran; Iran Roghayeh Saeidi roghayeh.saeedi@gmail.com 100319475328460037521 100319475328460037521 No Multiple Sclerosis Research Center; Neuroscience institute; Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran; Iran Mohammad Ali Sahraian sahraian1350@yahoo.com 100319475328460037522 100319475328460037522 No Multiple Sclerosis Research Center; Neuroscience institute; Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran; Iran Hossein Rezaei Aliabadi hosseinrezaei611@gmail.com 100319475328460037523 100319475328460037523 No Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran Seyedeh Nafiseh Hashemi nafiseh.96.nh@gmail.com 100319475328460037524 100319475328460037524 No Statistics Department, Science Faculty, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. Sharareh Sharareh sh_eskandarieh@yahoo.com 100319475328460037525 100319475328460037525 No Multiple Sclerosis Research Center; Neuroscience institute; Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran; Iran Mohammad Reza Gheini gheini@gmail.com 100319475328460037526 100319475328460037526 No Department of Neurology, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran; Iran Shaghayegh Shahmirzaei shahmirzaei.sh@gmail.com 100319475328460037527 100319475328460037527 No Department of Neurology, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran; Iran Mahsa Owji mahsa.owji@gmail.com 100319475328460037528 100319475328460037528 No Department of Neurology, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran; Iran Abdorreza Naser Moghadasi abdorrezamoghadasi@gmail.com 100319475328460037529 100319475328460037529 Yes Department of Neurology, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran; Iran