Cognitive Assessment in Proximity to Acute Ischemic Stroke/Transient Ischemic Attack: Comparison of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test and MindStreams Computerized Cognitive Assessment Battery

• Published in: Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders Vol. 36; no. 1-2; pp. 36 - 42
• Main Authors: Shopin, L., Shenhar-Tsarfaty, S., Ben Assayag, E., Hallevi, H., Korczyn, A.D., Bornstein, N.M., Auriel, E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland Karger 01.01.2013; S. Karger AG
• Subjects: Aged; Attention - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Ischemia - psychology; Cognition - physiology; Cohort Studies; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Executive Function - physiology; Female; Humans; Ischemic Attack, Transient - psychology; Male; Medical sciences; Memory - physiology; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Original Research Article; Prospective Studies; Stroke - psychology; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Computerized cognitive assessment battery; MindStreams; Stroke; Montreal Cognitive Assessment; Cognitive impairment; Cerebral infarction; Nervous system diseases; Cognitive disorder; Cardiovascular disease; Cerebral disorder; Vascular disease; Central nervous system disease; Brain ischemia; Degenerative disease; Cognitive Assessment Test; Cerebrovascular disease; Comparative study; Dementia
• ISSN: 1420-8008; 1421-9824
• DOI: 10.1159/000350035

Background/Aims: Even mild stroke survivors may sometimes experience residual cognitive damage. No consensus has emerged about which cognitive test is most appropriate for the diagnosis of poststroke cognitive impairment. We aim to compare a computerized battery of neuropsychological tests for memory, attention and executive functions (MindStreams®) with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to detect mild-to-moderate cognitive impairments in poststroke patients. Methods: Subjects enrolled to the TABASCO (Tel Aviv Brain Acute Stroke Cohort) study, a prospective study which includes consecutive first-ever mild-to-moderate stroke patients, were included. All participants underwent neurological and cognitive evaluations. Results: A total of 454 patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke are reported. Their mean MoCA and MindStreams scores were lower than normal; however, the TIA group presented significantly better scores using either method. The correlation between the MoCA and the computerized global score was 0.6 (p < 0.001). A significant correlation was found between the subcategory scores (executive function, memory and attention). However, the MoCA identified many more subjects with low scores (<26) compared to the MindStreams (70.6 vs. 15.7%). Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that either of the modalities alone is sensitive enough for identifying subtle cognitive impairment and none picks up substantially more cognitive losses than the other in patients with cerebrovascular disease.