Elizabeth Epstein

Publications (2)6.86 Total impact

• Article: Clinical measures of dysarthria in Friedreich Ataxia.

  Arunjot Singh, Elizabeth Epstein, Lauren M Myers, Jennifer M Farmer, David R Lynch
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  ABSTRACT: Dysarthria in Friedreich Ataxia (FA) is difficult to quantify. This study evaluated a series of performance measures for speech in 22 patients with genetically confirmed FA and 16 age-matched controls. Tests included the PATA examination, the PATAKA examination, the Oral Motor component of the Boston Aphasia examination, the Boston Cookie Theft description task, and the Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech. All measures, except the Cookie theft description task, demonstrated significantly lower scores for patients with FA when compared with controls and correlated with measures of disease progression. Thus, four of five measures capture speech dysfunction in FA and may provide feasible, inexpensive, quantitative testing for therapeutic monitoring in FA.
  Movement Disorders 12/2009; 25(1):108-11. · 4.51 Impact Factor
• Article: Health related quality of life measures in Friedreich Ataxia.

  Elizabeth Epstein, Jennifer M Farmer, Amy Tsou, Susan Perlman, S H Subramony, Christopher M Gomez, Tetsuo Ashizawa, George R Wilmot, Katherine Mathews, Robert B Wilson, Laura J Balcer, David R Lynch
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  ABSTRACT: Evaluation of therapeutic agents for Friedreich Ataxia (FA) has been limited by a lack of adequate markers of disease progression. We assessed the capacity of health related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires to reflect disease status in FA. The SF-36 and several symptom-specific scales were administered to an FA cohort. Scores were compared with norms for the United States population, and to a disease-free control group of similar age and gender. FA patients had significantly lower SF-36 Physical Component Summary scores (PCS) and Physical Functioning Subscale (PFS) scores, and both PCS and PFS scores correlated significantly with disease duration and disability status. Mental Component Summary scores (MCS) did not differ between FA patients and controls. Among symptom-specific scales, scores for the Pain Effects, Bladder Control, and Modified Fatigue Impact scales were significantly worse among FA patients than controls, and generally correlated with markers of disease progression. Findings of this study are consistent with the phenotypic characteristics of FA, and suggest that HRQOL measures are potentially useful as clinical markers of disease status in FA.
  Journal of the Neurological Sciences 07/2008; 272(1-2):123-8. · 2.35 Impact Factor