Abstract Details

Assessing Cognitive Deficits in Patients with and at Risk for Huntington's Disease (HD) Using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)
Movement Disorders
S20 - (-)
003
The RBANS is a brief cognitive measure that has been used to assess cognitive functioning in various populations. It consists of 12 subtests, which yield 5 Index scores (attention, language, visuospatial abilities, and immediate and delayed memory), in addition to a Total Scale score. Recent studies suggest that the RBANS may be sensitive to cognitive deficits associated with HD. However, to our knowledge, no study has examined the utility of the RBANS as a measure of cognitive impairment in premanifest HD (preHD).
We used a convenience sample from one academic center of 27 preHD (mean Langbehn year-to-onset estimate=11.9 years), 15 manifest HD, and 18 normal control subjects, who were well-matched with regard to age and education. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey-Kramer multiple comparisons tests were used to compare groups.
There were significant differences on RBANS Total Scale scores across the cohorts (mean NC=97.61; preHD=91.67; HD=79.33; p=.005) and between preHD and HD (p=.044), in addition to NC and HD (p=.004). There were no significant differences on Total Scale scores between NC and preHD. We also found significant differences between preHD and HD (p<0.01-0.001) and between NC and HD (p<0.01-0.001), but not between NC and preHD, on all of the cognitive Index scores, including attention, language, visuospatial abilities, and immediate and delayed memory.
These findings suggest that the RBANS may be a useful, rapidly administered measure for assessing cognitive deficits in HD, but perhaps not during the earliest stages of impairment and when preHD subjects are far from conversion. Further studies will be needed to confirm and extend these findings.
Authors/Disclosures
Elizabeth Breen
PRESENTER 		No disclosure on file
No disclosure on file
Rui Chang, MD No disclosure on file
Shea Gluhm No disclosure on file
No disclosure on file
Paul Gilbert, PhD (SDSU-UCSD) Dr. Gilbert has nothing to disclose.
Jody Corey-Bloom, MD, PhD, FAAN (UCSD Neurosciences) Dr. Corey-Bloom has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for UniQure. Dr. Corey-Bloom has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Teva Pharmaceuticaks. Dr. Corey-Bloom has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Co-Director, HD-Net with Huntington Study Group.