The NAH-Progress study: Visual impairments in patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease: Prevalence, diagnosis and rehabilitation

Care for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) is improving. However, visual disorders and complaints of patients with MS and PD are often neglected, and visual rehabilitation is not always applied. This is striking because visual dysfunctions may have a vast impact on the patients’ quality of life and they are estimated to occur in a third of patients with MS and in three out of four patients with PD. A well substantiated scientific background on visual dysfunctions and complaints is needed to be able to offer these patients appropriate chain-based care and rehabilitation. To achieve this, the NAH-Progress study (October 2016 to October 2021) is mapping the prevalence, as well as the nature and severity of the visual complaints and dysfunctions of patients with a neurodegenerative disease, including MS and PD.
Firstly, the prevalence study is done by means of a screening questionnaire, developed by the authors. It consists of 20 items inquiring visual complaints. All patients with MS and PD that are seen by a neurologist at the UMCGroningen or Martini Hospital are asked to fill out the questionnaire. A cut-off score distinguishes patients with visual complaints from patients without visual complaints. The patients with visual complaints are then referred to Royal Dutch Visio, a rehabilitation centre for all individuals with visual complaints. To create an appropriate control group, a group of patients without visual complaints are also referred to Visio. Secondly, at Visio, objective assessment of visual functions is carried out in an attempt to explain the patient’s visual complaints. In addition, a neuropsychological assessment is done, consisting of a visuo-perceptive assessment and a cognitive screening. Evidently, all patients referred to Visio are offered a tailored occupational rehabilitation program. In the last phase of the study, this rehabilitation program will be evaluated.