Version 1
: Received: 8 October 2023 / Approved: 9 October 2023 / Online: 9 October 2023 (07:38:01 CEST)
How to cite:
Sharbafshaaer, M.; Siciliano, M.; Passaniti, C.; Sant’Elia, V.; Silvestro, M.; Russo, A.; Esposito, S.; Tedeschi, G.; Trojano, L.; Trojsi, F. Screening of Visuospatial Abilities in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): A Pilot Study Using the Battery for Visuospatial Abilities (BVA). Preprints2023, 2023100473. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.0473.v1
Sharbafshaaer, M.; Siciliano, M.; Passaniti, C.; Sant’Elia, V.; Silvestro, M.; Russo, A.; Esposito, S.; Tedeschi, G.; Trojano, L.; Trojsi, F. Screening of Visuospatial Abilities in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): A Pilot Study Using the Battery for Visuospatial Abilities (BVA). Preprints 2023, 2023100473. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.0473.v1
Sharbafshaaer, M.; Siciliano, M.; Passaniti, C.; Sant’Elia, V.; Silvestro, M.; Russo, A.; Esposito, S.; Tedeschi, G.; Trojano, L.; Trojsi, F. Screening of Visuospatial Abilities in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): A Pilot Study Using the Battery for Visuospatial Abilities (BVA). Preprints2023, 2023100473. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.0473.v1
APA Style
Sharbafshaaer, M., Siciliano, M., Passaniti, C., Sant’Elia, V., Silvestro, M., Russo, A., Esposito, S., Tedeschi, G., Trojano, L., & Trojsi, F. (2023). Screening of Visuospatial Abilities in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): A Pilot Study Using the Battery for Visuospatial Abilities (BVA). Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.0473.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Sharbafshaaer, M., Luigi Trojano and Francesca Trojsi. 2023 "Screening of Visuospatial Abilities in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): A Pilot Study Using the Battery for Visuospatial Abilities (BVA)" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.0473.v1
Abstract
(Background) Cognitive deficits related to frontotemporal dysfunction are common in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Visuospatial deficits, related to posterior cerebral regions, are often underestimated in ALS, though they play a crucial role in attending daily living activities. Our pilot study aims at assessing visuospatial abilities using a domain-specific tool in ALS patients compared to healthy controls (HC). (Methods) Twenty-three patients with early ALS and 23 age- and education-matched HC underwent the Battery for Visuospatial Abilities (BVA), including visuo-perceptual and visuo-representational subtests. (Results) When compared to HC, ALS scored worse in 2 out of 4 visuo-perceptual subtests (i.e., Line Length Judgment and Line Orientation Judgment) and 1 out of 4 visuo-representational tasks (i.e., Hidden Figure Identification, HFI) (p <0.01). No correlations arose between ALS clinical features and BVA performance. More than 80% of the ALS cohort obtained abnormal scores in HFI subtest. (Conclusions) Our findings revealed that ALS scored worse (compared to HC) on selective tests tapping “perceptual” and “representational” visuospatial abilities, since early stages of disease. In clinical practice, our findings highlight the need of multi-domain neuropsychological assessment, for monitoring disease course and properly organizing care management of patients with ALS.
Medicine and Pharmacology, Neuroscience and Neurology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.