{"id":57,"date":"2011-06-28T12:14:04","date_gmt":"2011-06-28T12:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/2011\/06\/tools-to-study-the-effects-of-multiple-sclerosis-on-the-mind-don%e2%80%99t-measure-up.html"},"modified":"2011-06-28T12:14:04","modified_gmt":"2011-06-28T12:14:04","slug":"tools_to_study_the_effects_of_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/2011\/06\/tools_to_study_the_effects_of_1.html","title":{"rendered":"Tools to study the effects of multiple sclerosis on the mind don\u2019t measure up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Monthly_multiple_sclerosis_MRI.gif\"<\/a>Multiple sclerosis is known for robbing people of the ability to walk and move as they once did, and for debilitating pain. But beneath these devastating physical effects lies a slow but sometimes serious effect on the mind. Studies have estimated<\/a> that anywhere from 40% to 70% of patients with the disorder also show signs of cognitive decline such as memory loss.<\/p>\n

Last week, researchers met at the New York Academy of Sciences for a special session<\/a> on \u201cCognitive Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis\u201d. High on the agenda was a group-think about the lack of longitudinal studies and standardization in data collection when it comes to chronicling the effects of the disease on the mind. \u201cIs there a possibility that the neuroscientists could go into a room, close the door, and make up a battery [of tests]?\u201d asked Cleveland Clinic neuroscientist Ranjan Dutta<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When interviewed at the meeting by Nature Medicine<\/em>, neuropsychologist Stephen Rao<\/a>, also of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, provided the contrasting example of Alzheimer\u2019s, which can cause relatively precipitous cognitive decline in patients within only a few years, making it easier to measure in the clinic. In comparison, \u201cthe rate of decline [in multiple sclerosis] is about 6% of patients per year,\u201d requiring more expensive and longer studies.<\/p>\n


\nNotably, Alzheimer\u2019s researchers have had more recent success when it comes to agreeing upon what metrics to use. The National Alzheimer\u2019s Coordinating Center<\/a> (NACC) selected a battery of tests in 2005 to measure cognition including number recall (digit span) and the Weschler scale to judge memory, a mini-mental state exam to assess basic mental function, and the trail-making test for memory and task-switching, among others. \u201cBy and large, everyone was familiar with them so we took the path of least resistance,\u201d director Walter Kukull<\/a> told Nature Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After Dutta’s suggestion at the meeting of reaching an updated consensus for multiple sclerosis metrics, wisecracks were heard about the survival chances of neuroscientists arguing in a room. But Rao reminded the crowd that researchers in the field have reached an agreement in the past, publishing a consensus paper<\/a> as far back as 2002 that outlined a battery of tests for cognitive decline. Perhaps it needs updating to 2011 standards, but nonetheless, \u201cit is possible to get consensus,\u201d he proclaimed. Whether it is a true call to action, only time will tell.<\/p>\n

Image<\/a>: U.S. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Wikimedia Commons<\/EM><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Multiple sclerosis is known for robbing people of the ability to walk and move as they once did, and for debilitating pain. But beneath these devastating physical effects lies a slow but sometimes serious effect on the mind. Studies have estimated that anywhere from 40% to 70% of patients with the disorder also show signs of cognitive decline such as memory loss.  Read more<\/a> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-neurosciencemental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/spoonful\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}