Žilvinas Stepanavičius, Virginija Adomaitienė
Abstract
Still there is no consensus on the neuropsychological test battery that should be used for the diagnostics of mild cognitive impairment. It is recommended to use tests that involve more domains of cognitive functioning in order to make a more precise diagnosis. MMSE, 6-CIT, and ADAS-cog are mostly used scales in clinical practice for the evaluation of general cognitive functioning. It is not clear which one of these scales has more advantages in evaluation of general cognitive functioning and diagnostics of mild cognitive impairment. Therefore, the aim of this study is to compare the potential of MMSE, ADAS-cog, and 6-CIT in discriminating the subtypes of mild cognitive impairment which can be significant in the prognosis of Alzheimer’s disease. It is hypothesized that MMSE, ADAS-cog, and 6-CIT cannot discriminate the subtypes of mild cognitive impairment. Method: Six Item Cognitive Impairment Test, Mini Mental State Examination, and Alzheimer‘s Disease Assessment Scale – cognitive subscale were used in this study. 114 patients with mild cognitive impairment were selected for the study. Results: Statistically significant differences between the subtypes of mild cognitive impairment were determined only comparing the ADAS-cog scale sum. A more detailed comparison showed that statistically significant differences between the subtypes were determined in the ADAS-cog subscales of Delayed recall and Word-finding difficulty in spontaneous speech subscales. Conclusions: Scales that are used for evaluation of general cognitive functioning, are not helpful in discriminating the subtypes of mild cognitive impairment. The scales are only helpful in determining disordered cognitive functioning and its severity. Distinguishing the types of mild cognitive impairment is helpful in terms of prognosis; since scales of general cognitive functioning are not helpful in determining the types of mild cognitive impairment, their prognostic value is questionable.
Article in Lithuanian
doi:10.5200/sm-hs.2012.113
Keyword(s): cognitive functions; mild cognitive impairment; MMSE; 6-CIT; ADAS-cog
DOI: 10.5200/358
Full Text: PDF