Reliability and validity of neuropsychological screening and assessment strategies in MS

Neuropsychological impairment is common in MS but routine evaluation is cumbersome. Many proposed avenues to more cost effective evaluation of cognition in MS have appeared in the literature. In this article, we summarize work conducted at our center over the past five years involving two specific evaluation methods, the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Screening Questionnaire (MSNQ) designed to screen for neuropsychological impairment in MS and the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in MS (MACFIMS) designed to quantify cognitive function with psychometric testing. Our research shows that these methods are reliable and valid. Data show strong relationships with neuropsychiatric features of the disease, brain imaging and vocational outcomes. Work with new non-conventional brain imaging techniques and finer analysis of reliability during serial testing protocols is underway.