Functional impairment in progressive supranuclear palsy.

OBJECTIVE

The current study sought to describe the functional profiles of patients with early-stage progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in a large prospective, multisite study.

METHODS

Using data from 202 individuals meeting criteria for clinically definite or probable PSP, 3 functional scales were examined. Functional scores were then compared to measures of motor, cognition, and psychiatric symptoms.

RESULTS

Functional disability was high in early-stage PSP, with 100% of patients having less than perfect scores on all functional scales. Whereas functional scores tended not to be related to cognition or psychiatric symptoms, they were strongly related to motoric ratings.

CONCLUSIONS

Both clinically and in research settings, the definition of functional intactness/impairment has important implications. Future studies should examine if functional impairment is this high in PSP or if new scales of functional abilities need to be developed for this condition.