Objective: To verify if the verbal trail test can replace the written trail test, seeing that individuals with PD show considerable motor abnormalities that can influence the outcome of the written test.

Background: Introduction: For a long time cognitive issues were ignored in PD, describing only the motor symptoms, however, these symptoms coexist, ranging from subtle deficits in attention to dementia frames. Among the most common damage in PD, are the changes in executive functions. The written and verbal trail test is an important test for evaluating executive functions.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional case-control study. Individuals diagnosed with PD attending a movement disorders clinic of a referral hospital and healthy control subjects without neurological impairment were selected, paired for age and education level. The case-control group participants underwent the Mini Mental State Examination and the Trail Making Test (TMT) A and B and vTMT A and B, these with a limit for implementation of the five-minute test or even three errors, considering unable to perform when running outside these criteria.

Results: It was found at the Mann-Whitney test than the control group performs better in vTMT-B test, TMT-A eTMT-B when compared to the case group. There was a significant correlation in the case group for vTMT-B and schooling p = 0.001, TMT-B and schooling p = 0.003.

Conclusions: The vTMT-B can replace the TMT-B, but the level of education has a direct influence on the performance of individuals for both tests.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/reliability-of-verbal-and-written-trail-test-for-individuals-with-parkinsons-disease-is-it-a-good-cognitive-test/