Enhanced cognitive performance in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice treated with dimethyl fumarate after the appearance of disease symptoms.

In multiple sclerosis (MS), cognitive dysfunction is common but difficult to treat. We analyzed the impact of dimethyl fumarate, an MS drug with neuroprotective properties, in spatial memory performance in a mouse model of MS and looked for structural correlates in the hippocampus. Treated mice presented better cognitive performance which was not associated with structural hippocampal damage but with decreased demyelination in the fimbria. Dimethyl fumarate, even if initiated after hindlimb paralysis, ameliorated memory deficits in the MS mouse model due, at least in part, to its positive impact in the demyelination of the main hippocampal output pathway.