A new rapid cognitive test has been developed to diagnose early dementia.
The test, called TYM (test your memory), was devised by Dr Jeremy Brown and colleagues at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, UK, to require "minimal operator time and to be suitable for non-specialist use".
It comprises ten tasks including ability to copy a sentence, semantic knowledge, calculation, verbal fluency and recall ability. The test was evaluated using 139 patients with dementia or amnestic mild cognitive impairment and 540 comparable men and women aged 18 to 95 years.
As well as the TYM, the two groups completed the mini-mental state examination and the Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination.
Average score on the TYM was 33/50 for the patients and 47/50 for the comparison group. On the website of the British Medical Journal, the researchers state: "The TYM score shows excellent correlation with the two standard tests.
"The TYM was more sensitive in detection of Alzheimer’s disease than the mini-mental examination, detecting 93 per cent of patients compared with 52 per cent."
They conclude: "The TYM can be completed quickly and accurately by normal controls. It is a powerful and valid screening test for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease."
In an accompanying editorial, Dr Claire Nicholl, also from Addenbrooke’s Hospital, writes: "The diagnosis of dementia requires a detailed history from the patient and an informant, in addition to mental state examination and cognitive testing, usually in a specialist setting. However, a quick screening test is needed in primary care and general hospital practice."
But she cautions: "If the TYM is to be adopted more widely it must be validated in a range of settings and different populations."
Brown, J. et al. Self administered cognitive screening test (TYM) for detection of Alzheimer’s disease: cross sectional study. The British Medical Journal, 2009;338:b2030.
Nicholl, C. Diagnosis of dementia. The British Medical Journal, 2009;338:b1176.
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