Friends, family detect early Alzheimer's signs better than traditional tests

October, 2010

Cognitive tests only test you at a particular moment in time; early signs of Alzheimer's are more evident in declines in everyday behavior that are most visible to other people.

Confirming earlier research, a study involving 257 older adults (average age 75) has found that a two-minute questionnaire filled out by a close friend or family member is more accurate that standard cognitive tests in detecting early signs of Alzheimer’s.

The AD8 asks questions about changes in everyday activities:

Problems with judgment, such as bad financial decisions;
Reduced interest in hobbies and other activities;
Repeating of questions, stories or statements;
Trouble learning how to use a tool or appliance, such as a television remote control or a microwave;
Forgetting the month or year;
Difficulty handling complicated financial affairs, such as balancing a checkbook;
Difficulty remembering appointments; and
Consistent problems with thinking and memory.

Problems with two or more of these are grounds for further evaluation. The study found those with AD8 scores of 2 or more were very significantly more likely to have early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s (abnormal Pittsburgh compound B binding and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers), and was better at detecting early stages of dementia than the MMSE. The AD8 has now been validated in several languages and is used in clinics around the world.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-09/wuso-ffd092710.php

Reference:

[1888] Galvin, J. E., Fagan A. M., Holtzman D. M., Mintun M. A., & Morris J. C.
(2010). Relationship of dementia screening tests with biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease.
Brain. 133(11), 3290 - 3300.

seniors

Alzheimers

Related News

Complex link between head trauma and Alzheimer’s

Studies linking head trauma with increased risk and earlier age of onset for Alzheimer's disease have yielded contradictory results.

Over 90% of dementia cases in China are undetected

A survey of 7,072 older adults in six provinces across China, with one rural and one urban community in each province, has identified 359 older adults with dementia and 328 with depression.

Falling in British dementia rate

A survey of 7796 older adults (65+) living in three geographic areas in England has allowed us to compare dementia rates over time, with an identical survey having been taken between 1989 and 1994. The overall prevalence of dementia fell significantly, from 8.3% to 6.5%.

Less cognitive decline in Danish nonagenarians

A large Danish study comparing two groups of nonagenarians born 10 years apart has found that not only were people born in 1915 nearly a third (32%) more likely to reach the age of 95 than those in the 1905 cohort, but members of the group born in 1915 performed significantly better on tests of

Blood test predicts Alzheimer’s risk early

A five-year study involving 525 older adults (70+) found 46 had Alzheimer’s or aMCI and a further 28 went on to develop the conditions.

Plaques tell which MCI patients will progress to Alzheimer’s

A three-year study involving 152 adults aged 50 and older, of whom 52 had been recently diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment and 31 were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, has found that those with mild or no cognitive impairment who initially had amyloid-beta plaques showed greater cogniti

Variations in eye structure and function seen early in Alzheimer's

More evidence for early changes in the eye in Alzheimer’s disease comes from a study involving both rats and postmortem human retinas.

Blocking inflammation receptor helps Alzheimer's mice

Blocking a receptor involved in inflammation in the brains of mice with severe Alzheimer’s produced marked recovery in blood flow and vascular reactivity, a dramatic reduction in toxic amyloid-beta, and significant improvements in learning and memory.

Brain network decay detected in early Alzheimer's

A multi-year study involving 207 healthy older adults, in which their spinal fluids were repeatedly sampled and their brains repeatedly scanned, has found that disruptions in the default mode network emerges about the same time as chemical markers of Alzheimer’s appear in the spinal fluid (decre

Brain networks disrupted in Alzheimer's disease

An analysis of the anatomical connectivity in the brains of 15 people with Alzheimer's disease, 68 with mild cognitive impairment and 28 healthy older individuals, has found several measures showed disease effects:

Pages