Validation of the Spanish Version of the LASSI-L for Diagnosing Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Background: The Loewenstein-Acevedo Scale for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L) is a novel cognitive test that measures recovery from proactive semantic interference, which may be an early cognitive marker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Objective: To generate normative data for a Spaniard population and to validate the LASSI-L for the diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and mild AD. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in which 97 healthy participants, 34 with aMCI, and 33 with mild AD were studied with LASSI-L and a comprehensive neuropsychological protocol. The overlapping strategy analysis was used to maximize the sample size and to provide age- and education-adjusted normative data using a logistic regression analysis. Results: Internal consistency was 0.932. Convergent validity with the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test was moderate. LASSI-L raw scores were correlated with age and years of education, but not gender. The area under the curve for discriminating between healthy controls and aMCI was 0.909, and between healthy controls and mild AD was 0.986. LASSI-L sub-scores representing maximum storage capacity, recovery from proactive interference, and delayed recall yielded the highest diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions: The LASSI-L is a reliable and valid test for the diagnosis of aMCI and mild AD. The age and education influences on the performance of the test and normative data are provided. LASSI-L merits further studies to evaluate its ability to detect preclinical AD and predict progression to aMCI and early dementia.

Comparative Diagnostic Accuracy of the ACE-III, MIS, MMSE, MoCA, and RUDAS for Screening of Alzheimer Disease

“…It is worth noting that the participants included in our study had, on average, a low grade of education, with only a mean duration of 8 years of formal education. This educational level is similar to that of other studies performed in our setting and nearby countries [20,35], but it is lower than that of others, such as that of the series reported from the US or from the UK [6,36]. In this regard, according to the Youden index, cutoff points found in our study are very similar to those suggested in previous studies of validation in our setting but lower than those in other countries.…”

“…The neurologist who evaluated the patients was blinded to the cognitive test results included in the study. In 17 patients with AD (18.5%), a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment was performed, which has been described elsewhere [20]. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) was performed in 11 cases, confirming the diagnosis of AD.…”

Novel Cognitive Paradigms for the Detection of Memory Impairment in Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Matías-Guiu et al (2016) recently validated the LASSI-L among Spaniards and suggested that the LASSI-L is a reliable and valid test for the diagnosis of aMCI and mild AD. The study found that internal consistency was 0.932, and convergent validity with the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test was moderate.…”

A novel cognitive assessment paradigm to detect Pre-mild cognitive impairment ( PreMCI ) and the relationship to biological markers of Alzheimer's disease

“…A unique feature of the LASSl-L is a second presentation of the second target list that taps failure to recover from proactive semantic interference (frPSl). The LASSl-L frPSl measure has been found to be: highly related to total and regional amyloid load in neuropsychologically normal community-dwelling elders (Loewenstein et al, 2016); has differentiated between aMCl patients with suspected AD from cognitively unimpaired elderly controls (CN) (Curiel et al, 2013; Crocco et al, 2014; Matías-Guiu et al, 2016); and has been associated with volumetric loss in AD prone areas among elders with amnestic MCl (Loewenstein et al, 2017b). …”