Alzheimer’s 3 Word Test

How Does A Doctor Test For Alzheimers

When you see a doctor regarding memory loss, they will conduct a series of tests to determine the symptoms and causes of the changes in your behavior. These tests are not an exact science yet, but they will help the doctor develop an overall picture of your brain health. You should take these tests as soon as possible to receive the best treatment and plan for the future. When in doubt as to whether to see the doctor, it is best to lean on the side of caution.

Your doctor will not rely on one or two test results alone. There are several diagnostic tools that he or she will use to pinpoint any memory loss problems.

The first thing any doctor will do is get your complete medical history, including any medication you are taking. This data will include your familys medical history as well to determine any genetic risks.

This history gathering will be following by laboratory tests to eliminate any causes of the memory loss, such as thyroid problems, diabetes and kidney issues, and faulty drug interactions. These lab tests usually involve blood and urine tests, and the taking of vital signs. The doctor will have a thorough discussion about lifestyle and habits.

As a final option, the doctor will suggest and/or perform cognitive tests.

What Are Next Steps After Taking It

After you complete the test you should take it to your healthcare provider, who can score the test very quickly, even within seconds, and give you immediate feedback.

According to Scharre your doctor may be able to glean that a specific part of your brain is not working as well as other parts depending on how you answer specific questions. That may help them in their diagnostic considerations,” he explains.

Depending on your test results, your primary care physician may schedule additional neurological tests or brain imaging magnetic resonance imaging or computerized tomography scans to rule out other conditions that may be impairing your thinking or memory, such as stroke, Parkinsons disease, brain tumor, or other illnesses, like hypothyroidism.

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Treatment For Memory Loss

The treatment for memory loss can vary depending on the exact cause. In most cases, where the cause is non-permanent, it might be as simple as changing the behavior that is causing your memory loss. For example, if lack of sleep is the main reason that youre super forgetful, you might want to try setting a routine for going to bed and getting up in the morning. For stress, anxiety, depression or an underactive thyroid, youll need to see a physician and get appropriate medical treatment to help.

What Is Needed To Bring This Test Into Current Practice

Even a self-administered test that individuals can do at home will still require training for primary care providers, to understand how the test should be used and how to interpret the results. There is no question, however, that such training will be worthwhile. Once the training is complete, the knowledge gained should be able to save literally thousands of hours of clinician time, in addition to missed or improper diagnoses.

Another question is how individuals will react when they are told that they need to perform a 10-to-15-minute cognitive test at home and bring the results to their doctor. Will they do it? Or will the ones who need the test the most avoid doing it or cheat on it? My suspicion is that people who are concerned will do the test, as will people who generally follow their doctors instructions. Some individuals who would benefit from the information that the test provides may not do it, but many of those individuals wouldnt do the “regular” pencil-and-paper testing with the doctor or clinic staff either.

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Treating Dementia Related Memory Loss

Generally, there is no treatment for dementia-related memory loss. The extent of your memory problems will depend on which form of dementia you have and how far along it is. You can do things to help manage your condition though, in a similar way to traumatic brain injury, these include:

• Using visual aids and diagrams
• Using technology
• Daily to do lists

Eating a well-balanced diet and having regular mental and physical exercise can all help slow the progress.

Unfortunately, particularly with Alzheimers Disease, memory loss will only get worse as the condition progresses, and there is currently no cure.

Comparison Table Of Dementia Tests

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What Do The Results Mean

If your test results were not normal, it means you have some problem with memory or other mental function. But it won’t diagnose the cause. Your health care provider may need to do more tests to find out the reason. Some types of cognitive impairment are caused by treatable medical conditions. These include:

• Vitamin deficiencies

In these cases, cognition problems may improve or even clear up entirely after treatment.

Other types of cognitive impairment are not curable. But medicines and healthy lifestyle changes may help slow mental decline in some cases. A diagnosis of dementia may also help patients and their families prepare for future health needs.

If you have questions or are concerned about your results, talk to your health care provider.

How Does Memory Loss Happen

If we think of memory as a store of information that sits inside our brain. Normally, when we want to remember something, we send a signal to our brain to go find and retrieve that piece of information. So far, so good. Unfortunately, sometimes this doesnt work properly. In this sense, memory loss happens when our brain is unable to find a piece of information in that store its lost or forgotten.

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Overview / Words Of Caution

Several online tests can help families come closer to knowing whether a loved one suffers from Alzheimers disease or a related dementia. To be clear, these tests are not designed to give a diagnosis of Alzheimers. A diagnosis requires several medical experts, as well as expensive technology and potentially unpleasant procedures such as brain scans and spinal fluid extractions. Recent studies, in fact, have shown that dementia is often misclassified when using only the following tests.

A certain degree of forgetfulness is common to most aging individuals. Mild Cognitive Impairment is a condition which is more severe than normal memory decline associated with aging, but not so severe as Alzheimers. Online tests for dementia/Alzheimers should be adequate to help families distinguish between these conditions.

Before discussing the various options available to self-administer an Alzheimers test from the Internet, some words of caution are advised.

1. No online test can definitively tell if your loved one has Alzheimers. Do not believe any website saying otherwise.

2. There are many free tests, available online, produced by universities, nonprofits and reputable medical institutions. It is strongly recommended that one use the following links to find one of these tests. Do not pay for an Alzheimers test advertised online more than likely, these paid tests are not valid and can possibly be scams.

The Italian Version Of The Five

Luca Rozzini

Abstract

Background. The five-word test is a neuropsychological tool , measuring hippocampal memory trace consolidation. The study aimed to validate the test for the Italian language and to verify its ability to discriminate patients affected by mild cognitive impairment and dementia due to Alzheimers disease from healthy matches. Methods. 217 subjects underwent neuropsychological evaluation. The Spearman rank coefficient was used to assess the correlation between immediate , delayed , and total score of the FWT and correspondent matches of a specific short story test, while receiving operator characteristic curves were built to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of both. Results. Correlation between almost all the scores was significant in all the diagnostic subgroups the ROC curves of the two tests were not statistically different. A TRS of the FWT with a cut-off of 9/10 could accurately discriminate AD patients and MCI due to AD from control matches. . FWT is a simple and valid test of hippocampal memory which appears recommendable in routine clinical practice.

1. Introduction

The current implementing management of dementia care in Italy, which was organized into the first National Dementia Plan in 2014 , still demonstrates some weaknesses, despite the efforts to implement to-be-shared strategies for promoting appropriateness and quality of care and for limiting delays and fragmentation in supplying treatment and services .

2. Methods

2.3. The FWT

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Who Should Consider Taking The Sage Test

According to Scharre, anyone who is experiencing memory, language, problem-solving, or thinking problems should consider taking SAGE.

This may be especially important if you are noticing very mild symptoms, since SAGE is designed to pick up early deficits and allow your healthcare providers to diagnose and manage any potential conditions at an early stage,” he explains.

Friends or family members may want to encourage a loved to take the test if they notice issues related to memory or thinking.

You may also wish to take a SAGE to establish a baseline cognitive assessment to use for comparison in the future if you have a family history of dementia or thinking problems.

Typically, we would suggest repeating the test every six months unless significant cognitive changes are occurring,” advises Scharre.

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You can download the test for free at the Wexner Medical Center website.

Theres also a digital version made for tablets produced by a company called BrainTest. It consists of identical test questions. This version is scored by a panel and results are sent to you so can take them to your primary care physician for further discussion. You can download the electronic version at BrainTest.com.

How Does The Sage Test Work

SAGE evaluates your thinking abilities by asking you questions related to language, reasoning, problem-solving, and memory.

Scharre explains that the questions cover a wide range of cognitive domains, especially those abilities that are early predictors of mild cognitive impairment.

SAGE measures cognitive function by assessing the following areas:

• How many nickels are in 60 cents?
• Write down the names of 12 different animals

In addition to the scored items on the test, SAGE asks questions about your medical history, such as “Have you suffered a stroke?” The test asks if youve had a family history of cognitive impairment. Youre also asked about any current symptoms you may be having, such as problems with memory, balance, or if you’ve experienced any personality changes. These answers can help your clinician identify possible causes of cognitive decline.

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Take The Sage Test At Home

Anyone can take the SAGE test anytime. Its free and you can get it here on the Ohio State University website.

Print the test and take it with a pen or pencil. Theres no time limit, but most people finish in about 15 minutes.

Sample questions from the test:

• How many nickels are in 60 cents?
• You are buying $13.45 of groceries. How much change would you receive back from a $20 bill?
• Write down the names of 12 different animals.
• Draw a large face of a clock and place in the numbers.Position the hands for 10 minutes after 11 oclock. On your clock, label L for the long hand and S for the short hand.

What Happens During A Cognitive Test

There are different types of cognitive tests. Each involves answering a series of questions and/or performing simple tasks. They are designed to help measure mental functions, such as memory, language, and the ability to recognize objects. The most common types of tests are:

• Montreal Cognitive Assessment test. A 10-15 minute test that includes memorizing a short list of words, identifying a picture of an animal, and copying a drawing of a shape or object.
• Mini-Mental State Exam . A 7-10 minute test that includes naming the current date, counting backward, and identifying everyday objects like a pencil or watch.
• Mini-Cog. A 3-5 minute test that includes recalling a three-word list of objects and drawing a clock.

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Discuss Test Results With A Doctor

Dont assume that the test results are equal to a diagnosis of any kind.

The SAGE test is a screening tool that helps doctors detect early signs of cognitive impairment that are typically not noticeable during a normal office visit.

When the test is repeated over time, doctors can watch for changes in cognitive ability. Being able to measure changes helps them detect and treat health conditions early.

Thats why its important to bring the completed test to the doctor to have it reviewed. If there are signs of cognitive impairment, they may recommend further testing.

A New Model Of Cognitive Screening

Previously, there were two types of screening instruments to help determine if someone is developing cognitive impairment that could lead to dementia: clinician-administered cognitive tests and family/caregiver questionnaires. Now there is a third type of screening instrument: a self-administered test. Use of these self-administered tests will be key in detecting the increasing numbers of individuals with Alzheimers disease and other causes of dementia who will be with us in the next several decades.

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Recall Of Three Little Words Helps Quick Diagnosis Of Mild Cognitive Impairment

ATLANTA, Nov. 19 — Mild cognitive impairment can be determined in less than five minutes with a three-word memory test and a clock-drawing task, according to researchers here. The words are apple, penny, and table.

The new screening tool, called the Mini-Cog, coupled with a Functional Activities Questionnaire, allowed researchers to classify patients with 83% accuracy as cognitively normal, demented, or mildly cognitively impaired, James Lah, M.D., of Emory, and colleagues reported online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Action Points

• Explain to interested patients that a brief test paired with a functional activities questionnaire accurately diagnosed 83% of patients with mild cognitive impairment.
• Note that current screening for mild cognitive impairment typically requires 40 to 60 minutes of formal neuropsychological testing to achieve 80% accuracy or higher.

“A test like this is key to helping individuals detect this devastating disease earlier and maintain a good quality of life for as long as possible,” Dr. Lah said.

Current screening for mild cognitive impairment typically requires 40 to 60 minutes of formal neuropsychological testing to achieve 80% accuracy or higher, the researchers said.

To assess the accuracy of the overall test, the researchers did a cross-sectional study of 178 elderly patients.

About 22% were African-American, 72% were female, and 37% had a high-school education.

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What Does Sage Stand For

The Self-Administered Gerocognitive Exam, known as SAGE, is a brief, pen-and-paper cognitive assessment tool designed to detect the early signs of cognitive, memory, or thinking impairments. The test evaluates your thinking abilities. This can help your doctors understand how well your brain is functioning.

Douglas Scharre, MD, director of the division of cognitive neurology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, developed the test over a five-year period based on clinical experience and review of literature.

Questions were designed to evaluate every part of a patients brain,” Dr. Scharre explains.

The scoring for SAGE was designed to give equal weight for questions that assess brain function for the front, the back, the left, and the right side of the brain, so that no area was overrepresented.

SAGE will not diagnose any specific condition. It will not tell your doctor if you have Alzheimers disease or any other condition that can impact your thinking.

But it is a helpful screening tool for mild cognitive impairment from any cause and early dementia.

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How To Administer The Mini

Step 1 . Youll need a pencil or pen to keep score. You will also need a stopwatch or timer.

Step 2 Take the person being tested to a comfortable room that does not have distractions. Have them sit at a table and provide a pencil with an eraser. They also need a piece of paper for drawing the clock, and you can decide whether the paper is blank or if youre providing the circle.

Step 3 Look at the person being tested and say Im going to say three words. I want you to repeat them back to me, and you will need to remember them again at the end of the test. Then clearly speak three unrelated words, which are provided by the test. An example is river, nation, finger.

Step 4 Have the words spoken back by the test-taker as soon as youve said all three.

Step 5 Have the test-taker draw a clock with the time 10 past 11. You can provide the circle. Allow three minutes to complete this task. Do not help, but be friendly and encouraging.

Step 6 Ask the person What were the three words I spoke at the beginning of the test? Write down the answers.

Step 7 Compile the score.

How to Score the Mini-Cog

There are five total points a person can score on the Mini-Cog: Give one point for each word that was correctly remembered. Give two points for a correctly drawn clock, meaning the numbers are in roughly the correct locations and two hands are pointed to the 11 and the 2. The length of the hands does not matter.