title: Neuro-QOL and the NIH Toolbox: implications for epilepsy.
abstract: The impact of neurological disorders on the lives of patients is often far more complex than what is measured in routine examination. Measurement of this impact can be challenging owing to a lack of brief, psychometrically sound and generally accepted instruments. Two NIH-funded initiatives are developing assessment tools, in English and Spanish, which address these issues, and should prove useful to the study and treatment of epilepsy and other neurological conditions. The first, Neuro-QOL, has created a set of health-related quality of life measures that are applicable for people with common neurological disorders. The second, the NIH Toolbox for the Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function, is assembling measures of cognitive, emotional, motor and sensory health and function that can be used across all ages, from 3 to 85 years. This article describes both the projects and their potential value to epilepsy treatment and research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine 710 N. Lake Shore Drive, 7th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Cindy J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Nowinski
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Victorson
authors.forename: Jose E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Cavazos
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gershon
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cella