title: Frontotemporal Dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Discriminant Function Analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is growing evidence for extramotor dysfunction (EMd) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with a reported prevalence of up to 52%.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In the present study, we explore the clinical utility of a brief neuropsychological battery for the investigation of cognitive, behavioral, and language deficits in patients with ALS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-four consecutive ALS patients aged 44-89 years were tested with a brief neuropsychological battery, including executive, behavioral, and language measures. Patients were initially classified as EMd or non-EMd based on their scores on the frontal assessment battery (FAB).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between-group comparisons revealed significant differences in all measures (p < 0.01). Discriminant analysis resulted in a single canonical function, with all tests serving as significant predictors. This function agreed with the FAB in 13 of 17 patients screened as EMd and identified extramotor deficits in 2 additional patients. Overall sensitivity and specificity estimates against FAB were 88.2%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We stress the importance of discriminant function analysis in clinical neuropsychological assessment and argue that the proposed neuropsychological battery may be of clinical value, especially when the option of extensive and comprehensive neuropsychological testing is limited. The psychometric validity of an ALS-frontotemporal dementia diagnosis using neuropsychological tests is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nidos
authors.forename: Dimitrios S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kasselimis
authors.forename: Panagiotis G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Simos
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rentzos
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alexakis
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zalonis
authors.forename: Vassiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zouvelou
authors.forename: Constantin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Potagas
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Evdokimidis
authors.forename: Susan C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Woolley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology