[Assessment of cognitive function, emotions and activities of daily living in patients with multiple system atrophy].

Objective: To explore the cognitive function, emotional status and activities of daily living in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA).
Methods: Thirty-two MSA patients and 38 healthy controls from October 2009 to November 2012 were recruited from our hospital. Their cognitive function, emotional status and activities of daily living were assessed. Cognitive function was assessed by Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and mini-mental state examination (MMSE); emotional status by self-rating depression scale (SDS) and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS); daily living and activities by activities of daily living scale (ADL). Data analysis was performed with SPSS 19.0. And the results were presented as the mean ± standard deviation. Comparison of means was performed with independent sample t test. And Pearson's correlation test was used for correlation analysis. A P-value <0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Mild or moderate cognitive impairment was documented in 71.9% of MSA patients. The scores of MoCA and MMSE in the MSA group were significantly lower than those in the control group. And the scores of ADL, SDS and SAS in the MSA group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). MoCA subitems such as space/executive function, attention, abstraction, language and delayed memory of the MSA group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). A negative correlation existed between the scores of MoCA and MMSE with disease duration (P < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between the scores of SDS and SAS with ADL and disease duration (P < 0.05). And the relationship was significant between the scores of SDS and SAS (P < 0.01). A positive correlation existed between scores of ADL with disease duration (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: MSA patients have certain degrees of cognitive impairment, emotion disorders and impaired ADL. Cognitive impairment in MSA patients may be more common than previously. Furthermore, the clinical features of cognitive impairment in these patients may have some clinical values for references.