Preliminary data on a mnemonic instrument with proverbs for tracking Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

In the differential diagnosis between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and normal aging, tests evaluating memory and executive functions are frequently used. The addition of abstraction tests may enhance the effectiveness of screening tests for AD.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to compare initial data of a new instrument – The Screening Test for Alzheimer’s Disease with Proverbs (STADP) – against other screening tests used in AD diagnosis.MethodsSixty elderly individuals (46 controls and 14 AD subjects with CDR=1), aged =60 years, with at least one year of schooling, were evaluated using the STADP at outpatient clinic. The STADP assesses short-term memory, episodic memory, executive functions and language, in addition to proverb recognition. The performance of the participants on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), semantic Verbal Fluency (VF) and Clock Drawing Test (CDT) were evaluated and the habit of reading, writing and sociodemographic data were also taken into account.ResultsThere were significant correlations between STADP and the performance on the MMSE (r=0.64), CDT (r=0.50) and VF (r=0.56). Age influenced all sub-items of the STADP, specifically episodic memory (r= –0.54), whereas schooling mainly influenced executive functions and language (r=0.46). The total score, stages A and C and the “proverb recognition” of STADP (p<0.001), as well as the MMSE (p<0.001), CDT (p=0.016), VF (p<0.001) were significantly different in AD versus control groups.ConclusionsThe findings point to the potential use of the STADP in AD, warranting the conducting of further studies.

The scope of using pragmatic language tests for early detection of dementia: A systematic review of investigations using figurative language

“…Consequently, many studies of figurative language comprehension in patients with dementia have focused on proverb comprehension. We reviewed 34 studies on proverbs and idiom comprehension 47,61,63,64,91–121 . Most studies found proverb and idiom comprehension deficits in patients with dementia.…”

What dementia reveals about proverb interpretation and its neuroanatomical correlates

“…Because proverb interpretation has been widely studied in healthy controls (e.g. Baez, Mendoza, Reyes, Matallana, & Montanes, 2009;Chapman & Thompson, 1998;Elmore & Gorham, 1957;Heinik & Aharon-Peretz, 1993;Lafleche & Albert, 1995;Santos, Sougey, & Alchieri, 2009;Santos et al 2008;Treves, Ragolsky, Gelernter, & Korczyn, 1990), and the normative data provided by the D-KEFS allow us to compare performances on proverb interpretation in disease groups relative to healthy controls, we did not find a need to recruit healthy controls for the purposes of this study.…”

Nonliteral Language in Alzheimer Dementia: A Review

“…However, their research is so far only published as a conference abstract. Santos et al (2008Santos et al ( , 2009 investigated the performance of AD patients and older subjects on the Screening Test for Alzheimer's Disease with Proverbs (STADP) (Santos et al, 2009). This screening test consists of six cards from the ''memory game of Proverbs'' (Santos, Carvalho, Bastos, & Sougey, 2005).…”