Multiple Sclerosis Journal 1–7 DOI: 10.1177/ 1352458515593637 © The Author(s), 2015. Reprints and permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/ journalsPermissions.nav MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS MSJ JOURNAL http://msj.sagepub.com 1 Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) results in motor, cognitive, and neuropsychiatric symptoms, all of which can occur independently of one another at all disease stages and in all MS subtypes. 1 Common cognitive symptoms include deficits in complex attention, exec- utive functioning, processing speed, and long-term memory. 1 Various instruments are used to measure one or more domains of cognitive impairments in MS, such as the minimal assessment of cognitive function in MS (MACFIMS) 2 and brief repeatable battery of NP tests (BRB-N). 3,4 Recently, a brief cognitive assessment for MS (Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS: BICAMS) has been recom- mended for use to screen for cognitive impairments, because it addresses some of the needs in clinical practice. The battery is short, has established validity and reliability, captures the cognitive performance of MS patients, and can be administered by healthcare professionals who do not need special training. 5,6 To date, few studies have been conducted that have found a strong association between cognitive ability and daily functioning. 7–9 Given the high incidence of cognitive deficits in MS, clearly elucidating the rela- tionship between cognitive abilities and daily life functioning for patients with MS is of critical impor- tance, particularly for the clinician in a busy practice. In this setting, subjective self-reports of cognitive abilities, everyday life, and/or QOL are often utilized. Such subjective reports are minimally associated with actual cognitive impairment 10,11 and generally unre- lated to actual everyday life activity. 7–9,12 Use of a brief cognitive assessment such as BICAMS may provide an objective, reliable means of inferring the impact of the disease on cognitive skills and daily life Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) and performance of everyday life tasks: Actual Reality Yael Goverover, Nancy Chiaravalloti and John DeLuca Abstract Background: Recently, a brief cognitive assessment (Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis: BICAMS) has been recommended for use with patients diagnosed with multiple scle- rosis (MS) to screen for cognitive impairments. However, the relationship between the BICAMS and everyday life activity has not been examined. The aim of this study was to examine whether the BICAMS can predict performance of activities of daily living using Actual Reality TM (AR) in persons with MS. Method: A between-subjects design was utilized to compare 41 individuals with MS and 32 healthy controls (HC) performing BICAMS and an AR task. Participants were asked to access the internet to purchase a flight ticket or cookies, and were administered the BICAMS and questionnaires to assess quality of life (QOL), affect symptomatology, and prior internet experience. Results: Participants with MS performed significantly worse than HC on the BICAMS and the AR. Additionally, better BICAMS performance was associated with more independent AR performance. Self- reports of QOL were not correlated with AR or BICAMS performance. Conclusions: Individuals with MS have greater problems with actual everyday life tasks as compared to HC. The BICAMS is a promising cognitive screening tool to predict actual functional performance in participants with MS. Keywords: Cognition, activities of daily living, quality of life, multiple sclerosis, outcome measurement Date received: 29 January 2015; revised: 26 May 2015; accepted: 4 June 2015 Correspondence to: Yael Goverover Department of Occupational Therapy, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, 82 Washington Square East, 6 th floor, New York, NY 10003, USA. yg243@nyu.edu Yael Goverover Department of Occupational Therapy, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, USA Nancy Chiaravalloti Kessler Foundation, West Orange, NJ, USA Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, USA John DeLuca Kessler Foundation, West Orange, NJ USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, USA 593637MSJ 0 0 10.1177/1352458515593637Multiple Sclerosis JournalGoverover research-article 2015 Original Research Paper at Bobst Library, New York University on July 16, 2015 msj.sagepub.com Downloaded from