Relationship Between Cognitive-Behavioral Impairment and Clinical and Functional Parameters in ALS and Reliability of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen to Assess ALS: Preliminary Findings

Background Although it is widely recognized that a high percentage of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have cognitive and behavioral impairment, the associated clinical and functional parameters remain unknown. ALS is typically assessed via screening tests, such as the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS). Objective To investigate the relationship between cognitive-behavioral impairment and other clinical and functional parameters and to compare the assessment results from a set of standardized neuropsychological tests with those from the ECAS. Methods Forty individuals with ALS participated in the study. We assessed attention, memory and learning abilit…