AFAB or TFC: Which Is Better for Measuring Functional Status in Huntington Disease?

The Adult Functional Adaptive Behavior (AFAB) scale may offer a more complete measure of the impact of cognitive, motor, and neuropsychiatric symptoms on functional status compared with the Total Functional Capacity (TFC) scale among patients with Huntington disease (HD), according to new findings published in Movement Disorders.

These findings emerged from multiple regression analyses, which examined the association of these 3 symptom domains with functional status using both scales.

The results of the study indicated that, based on the AFAB scale, an increased burden of neuropsychiatric, cognitive, and motor symptoms was tied to increased impairments in functional status among patients with HD. The TFC scale, however, only demonstrated an association with motor symptoms.

The variance in AFAB scores, the researchers noted, was better explained by these 3 symptom domains than TFC scores.

“TFC may have limited applicability, particularly in early‐stage HD patients, as a measure of functional status. The AFAB scale can be used in HD studies as a more holistic measure of functional status,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:
Gibson JS, Ridner SH, Dietrich MS, Sohn MB, Rhoten BA, Claassen DO. Measuring functional status in Huntington's disease. Mov Disord. Published online October 27, 2020. doi:10.1002/mds.28363