It is now well recognised that people with motor neurone disease (also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) are at risk of developing frontotemporal dementia. It can be difficult to recognise the symptoms of cognitive decline in this group due to often severe speech symptoms associated with bulbar changes. This study explored the association between cognitive changes in motor neurone disease and age, sex, severity of disease, time since onset and education. The authors screened 69 people with motor neurone disease (46 men and 23 women) seen at the Mayo Clinic in the United States, using the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cognitive behavioural screen. They found no association between cognitive symptoms and age, sex, severity of disease, time since onset and education. They identified that 43 participants had cognitive symptoms, eight had likely frontotemporal dementia and 18 fell within normal ranges. Screening all people with motor neurone disease for cognitive symptoms is essential to ensure the delivery of the correct speech and language therapy support, education and advice for both the person and their family members.
The hidden dementia in motor neurone disease
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