Two simple tests and one complex disease
- John M Worthington1,2,3
- 1Department of Neurophysiology, Liverpool Health Service, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- 2Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
- 3South Western Sydney Clinical School, the University of New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia
- Correspondence to Professor J M Worthington, Department of Neurology, Liverpool Health Service, Elizabeth Street, Liverpool, Sydney, NSW 2170, Australia; John.M.Worthington{at}bigpond.com
- Received 11 September 2012
- Accepted 20 September 2012
Half the survivors of aneurysm related subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) become dependent,1 and half of those described as functionally independent are said to have cognitive deficits which seriously impact on everyday life.2 ,3 In a previous issue of JNNP, Wong et al evaluated the relative utility of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) bedside screening tools 3 months after aSAH.4
Cognitive impairment is a devastating and common outcome after aSAH and should be incorporated in outcome assessment in aSAH research,2 ,3 especially where the deficits can be related to potential treatment targets. Unfortunately, a ‘gold standard’ battery of neuropsychological tests for …
