According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than 5 million people in the US suffer from Alzheimer's disease. But new research suggests that early symptoms of the disease could now be detected early with the help of a 15-minute home-based test, meaning potential treatments could be started much earlier.
Researchers from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, led by Dr. Douglas Scharre of the Division of Cognitive Neurology at the university, published their findings in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.
The new pen-and-paper-based test, called the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE), consists of four interchangeable forms and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
The test determines the cognitive abilities of each patient by assessing the following areas:
- Orientation (the month, date and year)
- Language (verbal fluency and picture naming)
- Reasoning/computation (abstract and calculation)
- Visuospatial (3D construction and clock drawing)
- Executive (problem solving) and memory abilities.
Patients can achieve a maximum of 22 points on the test, and missing six or more points may warrant a follow-up visit to a clinician, according to the researchers.
SAGE test 'detects early signs of cognitive impairment'
Dr. Scharre says that in earlier research, it was found that around 80% of individuals will have their mild cognitive problems detected using this test, and around 95% of people without any signs of cognitive impairment will have normal scores.
To further assess the efficacy and ease of the SAGE test, the investigators visited 45 community events and asked 1,047 individuals aged 50 years or older to complete the test.
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