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Assessing Alzheimer Severity With a Global Clinical Scale

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2005

J. Wesson Ashford
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Springfield, IL, USA University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Vinod Kumar
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Springfield, IL, USA University of Miami, FL, USA
Mary Barringer
Affiliation:
Regional Alzheimer Disease Assistance Center, Springfield, IL, USA
Marion Becker
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Jami Bice
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Springfield, IL, USA
Nelly Ryan
Affiliation:
Regional Alzheimer Disease Assistance Center, Springfield, IL, USA
Sandra Vicari
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Springfield, IL, USA

Abstract

Diagnosis of dementia needs to be complemented by precise determination of disease severity across the broad spectrum of disease progression. The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMS), the Activities-of-Daily-Living assessment (ADL) and the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) were modified for direct comparability and administred to 112 outpatients and 45 nursing home residents with a range of dementia severity from mild to profound. The scales showed the highest correlations for the probable Alzheimer's disease patient group (62) (Global Assessment of Dementia; GAD vs. ADL: r = 0.91; Extended Mini-Mental Assessment; EMA vs. GAD: r = 0.91; ADL vs. EMA: r = 0.86). For these patients, scores on the individual scales tended to be similar. Disparity among the three scores for individual cases was associated with the presence of comorbidities. The high correlations and correspondence among these scales demonstrate their reliability, validity, and utility in the assessment of dementia severity. The use of an average of these measures, with their increased precision, may give a more accurate indication of dementia severity over a broader range of impairment.

Type
Research and Reviews
Copyright
© 1992 Springer Publishing Company

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