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Utility of Frontal Assessment Battery in detection of neuropsychological dysfunction in Richardson variant of progressive supranuclear palsy
Affiliations- Neurology Department, St. Adalbert Hospital, Copernicus PL Sp. z o.o., Gdansk, Poland
- Neurological and Psychiatric Nursing Department, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
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Abstract
Progressive supranuclear palsy is characterized by motor, cognitive and behavioral features. In Richardson's syndrome of PSP (PSP-RS) executive dysfunction is quite prominent. Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) is one of the most popular screening tests in the differential diagnosis of bradykinetic rigid syndromes. The study aimed at analyzing FAB subscores in relation to neuropsychological assessment results. Twenty patients with PSP-RS (12 with probable and eight with possible diagnosis) participated in the study. Sixteen PSP-RS patients scored below 15 on FAB. Among four patients having scored above cut-off (12 points) on FAB, two demonstrated both executive and language deficits, while the other two presented with only selective executive deficits on comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. FAB is a useful screening measure in PSP, but it may not detect subtle executive deficits. Moreover, language performance seems to contribute significantly to FAB scores. Thus, FAB should be treated as ‘‘frontal’’ rather than ‘‘executive’’ screening task, in line with its name.
Abstract
Progressive supranuclear palsy is characterized by motor, cognitive and behavioral features. In Richardson's syndrome of PSP (PSP-RS) executive dysfunction is quite prominent. Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) is one of the most popular screening tests in the differential diagnosis of bradykinetic rigid syndromes. The study aimed at analyzing FAB subscores in relation to neuropsychological assessment results. Twenty patients with PSP-RS (12 with probable and eight with possible diagnosis) participated in the study. Sixteen PSP-RS patients scored below 15 on FAB. Among four patients having scored above cut-off (12 points) on FAB, two demonstrated both executive and language deficits, while the other two presented with only selective executive deficits on comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. FAB is a useful screening measure in PSP, but it may not detect subtle executive deficits. Moreover, language performance seems to contribute significantly to FAB scores. Thus, FAB should be treated as ‘‘frontal’’ rather than ‘‘executive’’ screening task, in line with its name.
About this articleTitle
Utility of Frontal Assessment Battery in detection of neuropsychological dysfunction in Richardson variant of progressive supranuclear palsy
Journal
Neurologia i Neurochirurgia Polska
Issue
Article type
Short Communication
Pages
36-40
Page views
106
Article views/downloads
92
Bibliographic record
Neurol Neurochir Pol 2015;49(1):36-40.
Authors
Emilia J. Sitek
Agnieszka Konkel
Magda Dąbrowska
Jarosław Sławek
