title: Validation of the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) in Greek population with multiple sclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cognitive impairment is experienced by about 50% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) worldwide and affects their employment, disease management and quality of life in general. The Brief International Cognitive assessment for MS (BICAMS) is a brief, practical and potentially universal battery for cognitive impairment in MS patients. It consists of three tests: the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), the California Verbal Learning Test-2 (CVLT-2) and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to validate the BICAMS in Greek MS patients and controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty four MS patients and seventy nine healthy control (HC) participants were recruited and tested. They were group matched for age, education, gender and also premorbid cognitive reserve. All of them completed the three tests of the BICAMS battery. Instead of CVLT-2, the Greek validated form (Greek Verbal Learning Test, GVLT), was used. In addition, cognitive reserve was assessed using the Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire (CRIq) standardized for the Greek population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant difference was found in the performance of the two groups in all tests (p<0.0001, p<0.02, p<0.009 for SDMT, GVLT and BVMT-R respectively). Test-retest reliability was good for all the tests. Based on the criterion of 1 or more tests below the 5th percentile of healthy controls performance, 47% of patients were found impaired.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study provides validation of BICAMS in Greek population and therefore facilitates the use of this battery in clinical practice and in future studies of MS patients in Greece.
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Polychroniadou
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bakirtzis
authors.affiliation: Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Langdon
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Neurology and Neuroimmunology, B' Department of Neurology AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lagoudaki
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Neurology and Neuroimmunology, B' Department of Neurology AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kesidou
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Neurology and Neuroimmunology, B' Department of Neurology AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Theotokis
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Informatics and Telecommunications, University of Western Macedonia, Greece.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsalikakis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Neurology and Neuroimmunology, B' Department of Neurology AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Poulatsidou
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kyriazis
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece; Laboratory of Experimental Neurology and Neuroimmunology, B' Department of Neurology AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boziki
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boura
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sintila
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hatzigeorgiou
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ziamos
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ioannidis
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Karacostas
authors.affiliation: B' Department of Neurology and the MS Center, AHEPA University Hospital, Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece; Laboratory of Experimental Neurology and Neuroimmunology, B' Department of Neurology AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. Electronic address: grigoria@med.auth.gr.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Grigoriadis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: BICAMS; Cognition; Cognitive reserve; Multiple Sclerosis