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[P‐026]: Changes in cognition in Huntington's disease and its relationship to future cognition
Author(s) -
Duff Kevin,
Beglinger Leigh J.,
Moser David J.,
Langbehn Douglas R.,
Paulsen Jane S.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2005.06.088
Subject(s) - stroop effect , cognition , verbal fluency test , psychology , audiology , numerical digit , digit symbol substitution test , memory span , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , cognitive test , developmental psychology , medicine , neuropsychology , psychiatry , working memory , pathology , arithmetic , mathematics , alternative medicine , placebo
Background: Newman et al. (2001) noted that subtle changes in cognition of patients undergoing CABG surgery were predictive of cognition 5-years later. To our knowledge, similar comparisons have not been made in patients with neurodegenerative disorders, like Huntington’s disease (HD). Objective(s): The current study examined the relationship between shortterm changes in cognition and future cognitive functioning. Methods: One hundred seventy adults, who had been previously diagnosed with HD, were followed clinically on an “as needed” basis. The clinical visit included three cognitive tasks: 1) Digit Symbol, 2) verbal fluency, and 3) Stroop Color Word Test. The amount of time between Time 1 and Time 2 averaged 7 months, and the amount of time between Time 2 and the follow-up point, Time 3, averaged 29 months. Partial correlations were used to assess the relationship between short-term changes in cognition (Time 2 Time 1) and cognitive outcome (Time 3), while controlling for baseline functioning (Time 1). Results: Digit Symbol practice effects were significantly related to Time 3 Digit Symbol scores (pr[158] .56, p .01) after controlling for Time 1 Digit Symbol scores. Digit Symbol practice effects were also related to other cognitive scores, but to a lesser degree (verbal fluency: pr[158] .29, p .01; Stroop Interference: pr[154] .37, p .01). The other cognitive tasks showed similar, but weaker, relationships. Conclusions: Changes in test performance on repeated assessments were related to long-term cognitive performance in this large sample of patients with manifest HD. Digit Symbol showed the strongest relationship between short-term change and 29 month follow-up, possibly because of its more prominent motor component than the other cognitive tests and the underlying neuropathology of HD. This short-term change variable might offer a simple, convenient, and non-invasive marker for monitoring longterm changes in an individual patient’s cognitive status. This value might also serve as an outcome variable in clinical trials.