08 April 2012

Rating Scales for ALS and PD

I thought that it would be interesting to look at how Doctors rate symptoms in different neurodegenerative disorders, so I found two different rating scales: One for ALS, and one for PD.

ALS rating scale:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDYQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cebp.nl%2Fvault_public%2Ffilesystem%2F%3FID%3D1218&ei=DeaBT4rNF6KjiQLBibm7Aw&usg=AFQjCNGirIE0JEWMRHkEotymSLu6nsVEZg

-note that this opens as a word document, not as a ling to a website when you copy and paste it into your browser.

PD rating scale:
http://www.mdvu.org/library/ratingscales/pd/updrs.pdf

-I really like these scales. I have had the chance to only use the ALS scale once, but I have used the PD scale many times. It is organized in a very concise way that assesses the patient's mentality, how their daily lives have been effected, if there are any side effects of medication (or deep brain stimulator, if applicable), and a motor exam that shows the severity of symptoms.

I also included one other link, called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA). This is used for many patients with cognitive disorders such as dementia.
link: http://www.mocatest.org/pdf_files/test/MoCA-Test-English_7_1.pdf

if you look at thes test, you can see for us it is pretty easy and straight forward. But for patients suffering from many neurodegenerative disorders have a lof of trouble even doing the first two problems (although I must admit, cubes can be hard to draw).

Ethan Burns

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