Quick Memory Test Screens for Alzheimer’s

Researchers at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, UK, have created a 10-task test ("Test Your Memory," or TYM) that takes about 5 minutes to perform and can detect over 90% of Alzheimer’s cases. This self-administered test is described in the British Medical Journal, and the TYM itself can be downloaded.

The test was evaluated in almost 100 patients with neurologist-confirmed Alzheimer’s disease and in 550 normal controls.

Researchers evaluated the test, which is mostly self-administered, in 139 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (diagnosed by a consultant neurologist) and 540 normal controls. The 10 tasks, which are simple, include copying a sentence, determining word meanings, calculations, and tests of memory and recall. The maximum score for all 10 questions together, plus a rating of the ability to do the test, is 50.

In the evaluation, the controls scored an average of 47, while Alzheimer’s patients averaged 33 and those with mild cognitive impairment averaged 45. A score above 42 “correctly excluded” Alzheimer’s 97% of the time. On the other hand, the test identified 93% of those with Alzheimer’s, whereas the commonly-used mini-mental state exam (MMSE) identified only 52% of the Alzheimer subjects.

The Alzheimer’s Society commented on the TYM as follows: “A test that helps detect dementia sooner in local health care facilities could help more people access vital care and support earlier. However, more research is needed to see if this test works in different settings with different groups of people and establish whether it is more effective than the most sensitive existing tests.” Doubtless the TYM will be used widely in the next few years, and we’ll learn more about its sensitivity and specificity. At present, it seems better than the best we’ve got.