Rapid cognitive screening in multiple sclerosis accomplished by the Free Recall and Recognition Test

• Published in: Multiple sclerosis Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 272 - 274
• Main Authors: Claesson, Im, Ytterberg, C, Johansson, S, Almkvist, O, Koch, L Von
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.03.2007; Arnold; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Feasibility Studies; Humans; Immunomodulators; Mass Screening; Medical sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mental Recall; Middle Aged; Multiple Sclerosis - complications; Multiple Sclerosis - psychology; Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests - standards; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Recognition (Psychology); Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; assessment; neuropsychological tests; validity; cognition; multiple sclerosis; Multiple sclerosis; Nervous system diseases; Cognitive disorder; Neuropsychological test; Cognition; Medical screening; Inflammatory disease; Disability; Validity; Sensitivity; Specificity; Central nervous system disease; Feasibility; Degenerative disease; Recall
• ISSN: 1352-4585; 1477-0970
• DOI: 10.1177/1352458506071167

This study sought to investigate the feasibility of the Free Recall and Recognition Test (FRRT) as a practical screening tool for cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS). Persons with MS (n =227) were consecutively recruited and assessed with four cognitive tests; FRRT, Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Disease severity was assessed by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). The FRRT, which was completed by 99% of the cohort in approximately 5 minutes per assessment, correlated significantly with the other cognitive tests, as well as with the disease severity rating. A cut-off of 4 for the FRRT recall rendered 90% sensitivity and 25% specificity, and a cut-off of 4.2 for the FRRT recognition resulted in 70% sensitivity and 51% specificity. We conclude that the FRRT proved feasible as a practical screening tool for cognitive impairment in MS within a clinical setting. Multiple Sclerosis 2007; 13: 272–274. http://msj.sagepub.com