New Alzheimer’s Test

Category: Health

Hooray — no nursing home for me this week. British Medical Journal just reported on a new 5-minute test for Alzheimers, just 2 pages long. It’s supposedly much more sensitive than other tests. Here’s a link to the test on-line. It’s biased in favor of Brits and against Americans because of one cultural question. So, don’t freak over that one. Haven’t found the scoring system yet but will post when I do. Best for you to answer every question successfully. That way you’ll have a perfect score and know that you, too, will stay in the community for a while, at least.

A new mental agility quiz could help detect Alzheimer’s disease more accurately than the traditional test, Cambridge researchers say.

The test can be carried out by patients themselves, potentially while sitting in a GP or hospital waiting room.

Writing in the BMJ Online, researchers say it provides more accurate results than the standard mini mental-state examination, or MMSE.

This test has been used for decades to assist doctors in making a diagnosis.

One criticism has been than it is too easy, and may miss some patients in the early stage of the disease when treatment with anti-cholinesterase drugs – which reduce the breakdown of an important chemical in the brain – can be most effective.

It must also be carried out by a nurse or doctor and can take time to administer.