JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Cognitive impairment (CI) is one of the most prevalent symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, it is difficult to include cognitive assessment as part of MS standard care since the comprehensive neuropsychological examination are usually time-consuming and extensive.

Objective:

To improve access to CI assessment, we evaluated feasibility and potential assessment sensitivity of a tablet-based cognitive battery in individuals with MS.

Methods:

Fifty-three participants with MS (24 with CI and 29 without CI) and 24 non-MS participants were assessed with a tablet-based cognitive battery (Adaptive Cognitive Evaluation, ACE) and standard cognitive measures including the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). Associations between performance in ACE and SDMT/PASAT were explored, with group comparisons to evaluate if ACE modules can capture group-level differences.

Results:

Correlations between performance in ACE and SDMT (r=-0.57, p<.001), as well as PASAT (r=-0.39, p=.005), were observed. Compared to non-MS and non-CI MS participants, CI MS participants showed a slower reaction time (CI MS vs. non-MS: p<.001; CI MS vs. non-CI MS: p=.004) and a higher attention cost (CI MS vs. non-MS: p=.02; CI MS vs. non-CI MS: p<.001).

Conclusions:

These results provide preliminary evidence that ACE, a tablet-based cognitive assessment battery, provides modules that could potentially serve as digital cognitive assessment for people with MS. Clinical Trial: clinicaltrials.gov NCT03569618.