Simple screening for mental decline in five minutes
Screening for mild cognitive impairment can be accomplished in less than five minutes with a three-word memory test and a clock-drawing task, according to Emory researchers. This new test, called the Mini-Cog, is reasonably accurate and allows quick screening by health care professionals. It appears to be a valuable aid for early identification of patients who might be at risk for later development of a serious dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease.
The Mini-Cog, combined with a simple functional activities questionnaire, accurately diagnosed 83% of patients with mild cognitive impairment, in this recent Emory study. Current screening for mild cognitive impairment is often logistically difficult because it typically requires 40 to 60 minutes of formal neuropsychological testing and it only achieves 80% accuracy or higher.
Dementia is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as an acquired syndrome of decline in memory and at least one other cognitive domain such as language, visuo-spatial, or executive function sufficient to interfere with social or occupational functioning in an alert person. It’s very important to keep in mind that the word dementia describes a general syndrome and many different diseases can cause dementia. Alzheimer’s disease and cerebrovascular ischemia (vascular dementia) are the 2 most common causes. Some potentially reversible conditions, such as hypothyroidism or vitamin B-12 deficiency, are also some of the many different causes of dementia.
The Mini-Cog test results should only be used in conjunction with other testing in forming a diagnosis by a health care professionals, and should not be used in isolation of diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s disease.
If a family member starts showing signs of memory loss or other symptoms of mental decline, never assume that nothing can be done. See your health care provider for evaluation and help.
“Memory Loss Screening Tool for Caregivers/Family” from Bay Area Medical Information
“The Mini-Cog” from Bay Area Medical Information
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