The accuracy of three short cognitive tests for the identification of mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia in Alzheimers disease was examined. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the following Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS), and a novel screening tool (DemTect) were compared. The expert diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or mild to moderate dementia, based on the neuropsychological battery of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimers Disease (CERAD-NP), was used as a validity criterion. MMSE and TICS showed a low sensitivity in the distinction between patients with mild cognitive impairment and cognitively healthy elderly. In contrast, for this study the allocation accuracy by DemTect was 90 per cent. In the distinction between patients with mild to moderate dementia, MMSE and TICS performed equally well; they had a sensitivity of approximately 90 per cent and did not produce any false positive diagnoses. Both tests, however, did not perform as well as DemTect, which achieved a perfect group discrimination. For the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and mild to moderate dementia in Alzheimers disease, short, practical, and accurate tests are available.
«
The accuracy of three short cognitive tests for the identification of mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia in Alzheimers disease was examined. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the following Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS), and a novel screening tool (DemTect) were compared. The expert diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or mild to moderate dementia, based on the neuropsychological battery of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimers Disease (CERAD...
»