Saturday, July 24, 2010

About Alzheimer's Disease: Alzheimer's Screening Tests

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From Andrew Rosenzweig, MD, your Guide to Alzheimer's Disease
Can a test that takes about 5 minutes to do really show whether someone has Alzheimer's? While these tests shouldn't substitute for a thorough diagnostic workup, they have gotten much better, more accurate and easier to use, and there are more good choices than ever before. In addition to the widely used Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), others include the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Mini-Cog, the Saint Louis University Mental Status Exam (SLUMS), and the AD8 informant interview.

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)
The MMSE is widely used and reliable. Taking about 10 minutes to complete, the MMSE measures aspects of cognition that include orientation, word recall, attention and calculation, language abilities, and visual construction. Scores may need to be adjusted or interpreted differently to account for a person's age, educational level, and ethnicity/race.... Read more

The Mini-Cog
The Mini-Cog is a rapid Alzheimer's screening test that takes only 3-5 minutes to administer. It combines 3-item recall with the clock-drawing test to determine whether someone does or does not have dementia. It is extremely accurate as an assessment tool, but as with other screening tools does not substitute for a thorough diagnostic work-up.... Read more

Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
The MoCA is a relatively simple, brief test that helps health professionals determine quickly whether a person has abnormal cognitive function and may need a more thorough diagnostic work-up for Alzheimer's disease. It may predict dementia in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and it has been shown to identify cognitive problems in people with Parkinson's Disease... Read more

Saint Louis University Mental Status Exam
The advantages of the SLUMS include its superiority to the MMSE in identifying people with more mild cognitive problems that don't yet rise to the level of dementia. In addition, it is free to use and takes only about seven minutes to administer... Read more

 


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This newsletter is written by:
Andrew Rosenzweig, MD
Alzheimer's Disease Guide
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