Kessler Foundation study may simplify cognitive assessment for MS in clinical settings

Sep 25 2015

Kessler Foundation scientists found that the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) predicted performance of activities of daily living using Actual Reality™ (AR). The article, "Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) and performance of everyday life tasks," was published in Multiple Sclerosis Journal. The authors are Yael Goverover, PhD, OT, Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD and John DeLuca, PhD.

Dr. Goverover, is a visiting scientist at Kessler Foundation. She was a NIDRR-funded postdoctoral fellow at Kessler Foundation and is now an associate professor at New York University. Dr. Chiaravalloti is director of Neuropsychology, Neuroscience and TBI Research at Kessler Foundation. Dr. DeLuca is senior VP of Research & Training at Kessler Foundation.

The BICAMS is a short, valid, cost-effective clinical assessment that can be administered in settings where there are barriers to extensive neuropsychological testing. BICAMS comprises three tests: the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), California Verbal Learning Test-II, and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised. While the BICAMS has been found to be useful in the cognitive assessment of individuals with MS, few studies have examined the relationship between cognitive ability and performance of everyday life activities. In this study, 41 people with MS and 32 healthy controls were tested with BICAMS and evaluated for their ability to perform AR tasks of accessing the internet via computer and ordering cookies or airline tickets.

Performance on the BICAMS was worse among the participants with MS," noted Dr. Goverover, "and poor performance on BICAMS correlated with poor performance of AR tasks, which require more complex cognitive skills. This indicates that BICAMS may be useful for predicting performance on everyday activities, as well as for assessing cognitive abilities. This finding has implications for clinicians who care for individuals with MS in a broad range of settings, especially those with limited access to neuropsychological consultation."

Source: Kessler Foundation