Category: Parkinson's Disease: Cognitive functions
Objective: To evaluate the clinimetric properties of the Attention/Working memory and Executive domain tests used in Parkinson’s disease (PD) on behalf of the Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Clinical Outcome Assessment Scientific Evaluation Committee (COA SEC).
Background: Significant cognitive impairment in PD is a well-established non-motor complication affecting quality of life and well-being of patients and caregivers. Extensive neuropsychological assessment is mandatory for optimal detection of mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) or dementia (PDD). A plethora of heterogeneous cognitive tests/clinical outcome assessments has been proposed as possible measurement tools regardless of their quality in terms of clinimetric properties.
Method: We performed a systematic literature review of tests assessing Attention/Working memory and Executive domains in PD (tests on Language, Memory, and Visuospatial functions are included in an accompanying review). The selected tests were, after a thorough examination of their clinimetric properties, rated as “recommended,” “recommended with caveats,” “suggested,” or “listed” by the MDS panel of experts according to the MDS COA SEC guidelines.
Results: Thirty tests/COAs were included in total. A consensus was reached that eight tests, used in PD, were recommended, including four tests assessing Attention/Working memory abilities (Digit span, Coding and Symbol Search subtests of the WAIS-IV and Trail Making Test) and four tests assessing Executive functions (WAIS-IV Similarities, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Fluency Task and Stroop Colour and Word Test). These tests showed mainly good to excellent levels of reliability and validity, available normative datasets with an age-range up to 90s and sensitivity to change. Eight tests were “recommended with caveats”, eleven “suggested, and three “listed”.
Conclusion: Recommended Attention/Working memory and Executive domain tests are proposed to guide assessment of cognitive impairment in PD (PD-MCI or PDD). Additionally, other tests were identified as useful, but caution must be applied due to their clinimetric limitations.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
R. Biundo, O. Bezdicek, D. Cammisuli, B. Cholerton, JC. Dalrymple-Alford, N. Edelstyn, E. Fiorenzato, E. Holker, SI. Martinez-Horta, A. Martini, G. Santangelo, B. Segura, C. Siri, A. Troster, M. Skorvanek, D. Weintraub, G. Geurtsen. Attention/Working memory and Executive Tests in Parkinson’s disease: Review, Critique and Recommendations [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2024; 39 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/attention-working-memory-and-executive-tests-in-parkinsons-disease-review-critique-and-recommendations/. Accessed October 9, 2024.« Back to 2024 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/attention-working-memory-and-executive-tests-in-parkinsons-disease-review-critique-and-recommendations/