Evaluation of Cognitive Functions in 20 Patients With Type 1 Myotonic Dystrophy With Virtual Reality Approach

Type 1 myotonic dystrophy (MD1) is a genetic and hereditary disease that primarily affects muscle tissue, resulting in myotonia (difficulty relaxing after contraction) and atrophy (progressive muscle weakening with decreased muscle volume). It also affects eyes, heart, endocrine system, gastrointestinal system and central nervous system. Specific cognitive abilities are impaired in patients with MD1 such as attention, visio-spatial or visio-building abilities as well as executive dysfunctions. Currently, the cognitive assessment of MD1 patients is based on classical neuropsychological tests, which are time-consuming and require a MD1 expert neuropsychologist. Moreover, it is usually very difficult for MD1 patients to accept performing these tests, and when they agree to perform them, they usually give up before the end. This finding is more frequent in MD1 patients with high level of cognitive impairment. In order to overcome these difficulties in assessing cognitive functions of MD1 patients, the investigators decided to use innovative tools such as virtual reality, which allow individuals to experience a sensory-motor and cognitive experience in a digitally world through a helmet, glasses and joysticks. The start-up My Cyber Royaume from Lille, in collaboration with the reference center of neuromuscular diseases from Nice coordinated by Pr Sacconi, have developed a software "Good Diag NMD" which uses virtual reality to assess cognitive disorders, more specifically executive functions in patients with type 1 myotonic dystrophy.