Subjective Memory Complaints (SMC) are frequent among adults and elderly and are associated with poor quality of life. The etiology and clinical significance of SMCs are unclear, but these complaints are associated with objective cognitive decline or with depression, anxiety and psychosocial stressors. Biological and physiological brain alterations resembling those in Alzheimer's Disease have been found in SMC. SMC can evolve with different outcomes and represent the initial symptom or a risk factor of dementia. Active systematic search can be useful for early screening of candidates for preventive or therapeutic interventions.ObjectiveTo propose a Memory Complaints Scale (MCS) as an instrument for actively searching for memory complaints and to investigate its utility for discriminating demented from cognitively normal elderly.MethodsA total of 161 patients from a teaching behavioral neurology outpatient unit of a tertiary hospital were studied. The MCS was used in two ways, by direct application to the patient and by application to the patient's companion. Cognitive tests assessing depression and daily living activities were also applied.ResultsHigh Cronbach's alpha coefficients were found for the two application methods. Correlations between the two versions and the other instruments administered for patients grouped by type and severity of dementia were also found.ConclusionThe MCS is a useful scale for identifying memory complaints and discriminating demented from cognitively normal elderly. Further studies confirming these findings are warranted.

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between Caregiver Distress and Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms in Dementias (BPSD) in mild Alzheimer’s disease.MethodsFifty patients and caregivers were interviewed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI).Results96.0% of the patients had at least one BPSD. The mean NPI total score was 19.6 (SD=18.05; range=0-78) whereas the mean Caregiver Distress Index (CDI) total score was 11.5 (SD=10.41; range=0-40). For the individual symptoms, the weighted mean CDI was 2.8 (SD=1.58). All symptom CDI means were higher than 2.0 except for euphoria/elation (m=1.8; SD=1.49). There were correlations between CDI and derived measures (Frequency, Severity, FxS, and Amplitude) for all symptoms, except Disinhibition and Night-time behavior. Correlations ranged between 0.443 and 0.894, with significance at p<0.05.ConclusionsAll the derived measures, including amplitude, were useful in at least some cases. The data suggests that CDI cannot be inferred from symptom presence or profile. Symptoms should be systematically investigated.

Resumo: O presente artigo foi produzido mediante a comemoração dos 15 anos do Sistema de Avaliação dos Testes Psicológicos (Satepsi). Inicialmente serão apresentados aspectos históricos que fundamentam a decisão do Conselho Federal de Psicologia (CFP) de criar um sistema de análise dos instrumentos, bem como alguns dos desafios vivenciados pela comunidade científica nesses anos. Em seguida, a partir de uma revisão de estudos sobre os testes psicológicos disponíveis no Satepsi, pretende-se discutir a evolução das características dos testes psicológicos disponíveis no Brasil. Buscou-se contrastar os dados das pesquisas recentes com um levantamento feito em fevereiro de 2018 no Satepsi. No levantamento, foram identificados 180 testes psicológicos com pareceres favoráveis, sugerindo que do ponto de vista quantitativo praticamente quadruplicou o número de testes disponíveis no mercado desde a criação do Satepsi. Além disso, nota-se que a qualidade do material acompanhou os avanços da área. A partir das análises feitas, defende-se a importância do Satepsi para assegurar que materiais de qualidade estejam acessíveis para uso dos psicólogos.

The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is a neuropsychological assessment tool designed to assess executive functions, frequently used in cases of cognitive disorders. However, Brazilian neuroscientific settings lack standardization studies of psychological assessment instruments, especially in the neuropsychological area. Thus, the assessment of clinical groups including dementias and particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, may be compromised by the lack of analytical references.ObjectiveTo characterize the performance of elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease on the WCST, aiming at establishing preliminary evaluative norms.MethodThirty-six elderly patients (mean age of 75.8 years) with mild AD from a teaching hospital were assessed using the printed form of the WCST.ResultsThe elderly patients with AD had impaired performance on the various WCST technical indicators, highlighting cognitive deficit with traces of stereotyped behavior and failures in working memory, conceptualization and learning. The results allowed preliminary norms to be defined for elderly AD patients on the various WCST indicators, grading their performance in eight diagnostic areas and yielding the identification of different levels of impairment of executive functions in these elderly patients.ConclusionsThe results demonstrated specific aspects of performance on the WCST by elderly people with AD, highlighting the effect of the disease on cognitive performance and executive functioning. Those normative references, although preliminary make a significant contribution to the neuropsychological assessment of AD patients in the Brazilian context, within the informative scope of the WCST.

O WCST é um teste neuropsicológico de resolução de problemas. Os critérios de resolução são inicialmente desconhecidos e mutantes, exigindo do respondente uma compreensão dos princípios lógicos do problema. Diante da relevância do WCST na avaliação neuropsicológica, este trabalho descreve uma revisão bibliográfica dos artigos que fazem referência ao teste. Realizou-se uma busca bibliográfica em três bases internacionais: Medline, Science Direct, PsycINFO, usando como descritor o unitermo "WCST". Foram identificados 1.076 artigos científicos, desde 1952 até 2009, observando-se significativo aumento das publicações com WCST a partir de 1993, com proporções crescentes a cada ano. Os países que mais publicaram sobre este teste neuropsicológico foram Holanda, Estados Unidos e Reino Unido, sendo os principais descritores das revistas que publicaram sobre o WCST: Psiquiatria, Neuropsicologia, Psicologia e Cérebro. O presente trabalho demonstra, ainda, que os periódicos que publicaram 10 ou mais artigos sobre o WCST têm elevado fator de impacto (JCR).