Dataset Information

A Quick Test of cognitive speed is sensitive in detecting early treatment response in Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

There is a great need for quick tests that identify treatment response in Alzheimer's disease (AD) to determine who benefits from the treatment. In this study, A Quick Test of cognitive speed (AQT) was compared with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) in the evaluation of treatment outcome in AD.

Methods

75 patients with mild to moderate AD at a memory clinic were assessed with AQT and the MMSE at a pretreatment visit, at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI) initiated at baseline. Changes in the mean test scores before and after treatment were compared, as well as the number of treatment responders detected by each test, according to a reliable change index (RCI).

Results

After 8 weeks of treatment, the AQT improvement, expressed as a percentage, was significantly greater than that of the MMSE (P = 0.026). According to the RCI, the cut-offs to define a responder were ?16 seconds improvement on AQT and ?3 points on the MMSE after 8 weeks. With these cut-offs, both tests falsely classified ?5% as responders during the pretreatment period. After 8 weeks of treatment, AQT detected significantly more responders than the MMSE (34% compared with 17%; P = 0.024). After 6 months of treatment, the 8-week AQT responders still showed a significantly better treatment response than the AQT nonresponders (22.3 seconds in mean difference; P < 0.001).

Conclusions

AQT detects twice as many treatment responders as the MMSE. It seems that AQT can, already after 8 weeks, identify the AD patients who will continue to benefit from ChEI treatment.

SUBMITTER: Palmqvist S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2983438 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

A Quick Test of cognitive speed is sensitive in detecting early treatment response in Alzheimer's disease.

Palmqvist Sebastian S Minthon Lennart L Wattmo Carina C Londos Elisabet E Hansson Oskar O

Alzheimer's research & therapy 20101015 5

<h4>Introduction</h4>There is a great need for quick tests that identify treatment response in Alzheimer's disease (AD) to determine who benefits from the treatment. In this study, A Quick Test of cognitive speed (AQT) was compared with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) in the evaluation of treatment outcome in AD.<h4>Methods</h4>75 patients with mild to moderate AD at a memory clinic were assessed with AQT and the MMSE at a pretreatment visit, at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment w ...[more]

PMID: 20950460

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Project description:BACKGROUND:There is growing interest in identifying sensitive composite cognitive tests to serve as primary endpoints in preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment trials. We reported previously a composite cognitive test score sensitive to tracking preclinical AD decline up to 5?years prior to clinical diagnosis. Here we expand upon and refine this work, empirically deriving a composite cognitive test score sensitive to tracking preclinical AD decline up to 11?years prior to diagnosis and suitable for use as a primary endpoint in a preclinical AD trial. METHODS:This study used a longitudinal approach to maximize sensitivity to tracking progressive cognitive decline in people who progressed to the clinical stages of AD (n =?868) compared to those who remained cognitively unimpaired during the same time period (n =?989), thereby correcting for normal aging and practice effects. Specifically, we developed the Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative Preclinical Composite Cognitive test (APCC) to measure very early longitudinal cognitive decline in older adults with preclinical AD. Data from three cohorts from Rush University were analyzed using a partial least squares (PLS) regression model to identify optimal composites within different time periods prior to diagnosis, up to 11?years prior to diagnosis. The mean-to-standard deviation ratio (MSDRs) is an indicator of sensitivity to change and was used to inform the final calculation of the composite score. RESULTS:The optimal composite, the APCC, is calculated: 0.26*Symbol Digit Modalities +?2.24*MMSE Orientation to Time?+?2.14*MMSE Orientation to Place +?0.53*Logical Memory Delayed Recall +?1.36* Word List-Delayed Recall +?0.68*Judgment of Line Orientation +?1.39*Raven's Progressive Matrices Matrices (subset of 9 items from A and B). The MSDR of the APCC in a population of preclinical AD individuals who eventually progress to cognitive impairment, compared to those who remained cognitively unimpaired during the same time period, was -?1.10 over 1 year. CONCLUSIONS:The APCC is an empirically derived composite cognitive test score with high face validity that is sensitive to preclinical AD decline up to 11?years prior to diagnosis of the clinical stages of AD. The components of the APCC are supported by theoretical understanding of cognitive decline that occurs during preclinical AD. The APCC was used as a primary outcome in the API Generation Program trials.

Dataset Information

A Quick Test of cognitive speed is sensitive in detecting early treatment response in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

A Quick Test of cognitive speed is sensitive in detecting early treatment response in Alzheimer's disease.

Similar Datasets

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