What is it about?
Tracking changes in functioning is important in Alzheimer's disease to know when it is starting and getting worse. This study used a brief questionnaire that is rated by someone who knows the patient well at an initial visit and again a year later. These quick ratings remained stable in healthy people, but declined in those with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
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Why is it important?
Alzheimer's disease is likely to overwhelm our healthcare system unless we can more accurately identify it, track its change over time, and develop treatments for it. Current methods for tracking changes in Alzheimer's disease are time-consuming, burdensome, and require specially-trained individuals. However, this study showed that family members or other individuals that know the patient well can provide valuable information about changes over time.
Perspectives
I hope that this method, and others like it, can help advance the research on diagnosing, tracking, and treating patients with Alzheimer's disease and related conditions.
Kevin Duff
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Change in the Quick Dementia Rating System Across Time in Older Adults with and without Cognitive Impairment, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, May 2023, IOS Press,
DOI: 10.3233/jad-221252.
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