The brief neuropsychological battery for children: a screening tool for cognitive impairment in childhood and juvenile multiple sclerosis

Background A critical problem with neuropsychological assessment in children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) is the absence of a standardized, well-validated neuropsychological battery specifically tailored for detecting disease-related cognitive problems in this age range. Objective To develop a Brief Neuropsychological Battery for Children (BNBC) with MS. Methods We assessed cognitive functions in 61 patients with childhood and juvenile MS and 58 demographically matched healthy controls through an extensive neuropsychological battery. Results In MS patients, we found a proportion of cognitive impairment of 41%. In the BNBC, we included the tests with higher discriminating ability (the Selective Reminding Test, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, the Trail Making Test, and the Vocabulary test from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children). The BNBC yielded a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 76%. Conclusion Our findings provide preliminary evidence of the usefulness of the BNBC as a screening tool for detecting cognitive impairment in childhood and juvenile MS cases. Multiple Sclerosis 2009; 15: 620-626. http://msj.sagepub.com