The validation of the Italian Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS)

AbstractThis study presents the Italian validation of the recently developed Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS), a short screen for cognitive/behavioural alterations in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS). We evaluated the psychometric properties of the ECAS Italian version in terms of reliability and convergent validityfor both cognitive and behavioural features. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship with affective and clinical variables, in addition to ECAS usability and patients’ insight into cognitive/behaviour changes. Finally, correlations between genetic and cognitive/behavioural data were analysed. We recruited 107 patients with ALS. Normative data were collected on 248 healthy subjects. Participants were administered the ECAS and two standard cognitive screening tools (FAB, MoCA), two psychological questionnaires (BDI, STAI/Y) and an ad hoc usability questionnaire. The FBI was also carried out with caregivers. Results showed that the ECAS Italian version ...