RELATION OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL AND MAGNETIC-RESONANCE FINDINGS IN AMYOTROPHIC-LATERAL-SCLEROSIS - EVIDENCE FOR SUBGROUPS

The relationship between neuropsychological impairments and changes in cranial MR images was investigated in a group of 74 consecutive patie nts with the sporadic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Neu ropsychological tests included measures of frontal lobe function, memo ry, intelligence, and attention. Compared with a control group, a sign ificant impairment of the ALS group emerged for the areas of visual at tention, inhibition of response alternatives, visual memory, and word generation. These neuropsychological impairments did not show a relati on to clinical status of the patients. Likewise, MR parameters derived by computer assisted planimetric analysis showed a ventricular enlarg ement and parenchymal atrophy in the ALS group compared with age-match ed controls. When ALS patients were assigned to two subgroups differin g on the basis of the neuropsychological tests by cluster-analysis the cluster with the significant impairment also showed a pronounced chan ge for the MR-parameters while the subgroup showed essentially normal neuropsychological performance. This pattern suggests that subgroups o f ALS with differential impairment of neuropsycholigcal functions can be defined. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.