Popular Articles on the Alzheimer's Reading Room -- September (Top Landing Pages)

Test Your Memory (TYM) for Alzheimer's or Dementia in Five Minutes (#1 June, July, August, September)
A new cognitive test for detecting Alzheimer's disease is quicker and more accurate than many current tests, and could help diagnose early Alzheimer's, dementia, or mild cognitive impairment.
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Dementia and the Eight Types of Dementia
Dementia is a an illness that usually occurs slowly over time, and usually includes a progressive state of deterioration. The earliest signs of dementia are usually memory problems, confusion, and changes in the way a person behaves and communicates.
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Five Ways to Keep Alzheimer's Away
A recently released study showed that regular exercise is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of dementia and can help slow progression of Alzheimer's disease. Less well known is the fact that if you have a big belly in middle age the chances that you could suffer from dementia are tripled.
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The Combination of Aricept and Namenda Helps Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer's Patients
"The results of this study should change the way we treat patients with Alzheimer's disease. Cholinesterase inhibitors are approved for use in mild to moderate dementia, while memantine has been approved for advanced dementia. But it looks like there is an advantage in prescribing both drugs as initial treatment."--John Growdon, MD
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A Simple Three Minute Test Can Detect the Earliest Stage of Alzheimer's Disease
The study shows that the combination of a very brief three-minute cognitive screening test, called the Mini-Cog (MC), with a Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) -- administered to a family member or friend -- could accurately identify individuals with MCI and undiagnosed dementia.
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Bob DeMarco is the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for news, advice, and insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob has written more than 800 articles with more than 18,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.

Popular articles on the Alzheimer's Reading Room

• The Metamorphosis of This Alzheimer's Caregiver (Part One)
• Test Your Memory (TYM) for Alzheimer's or Dementia in Five Minutes
• Does the Combination of Aricept and Namenda Help Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer's Patients
• Five Ways to Keep Alzheimer's Away
• Is it Really Alzheimer's or Something Else?
• Alzheimer's Wandering Why it Happens and What to Do
• 10 Good Reasons to Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading Room Now
• World Health Care Spending and Performance Ranking by Country (Table)
• What is Dementia?
• Dementia and the Eight Types of Dementia
• Walmart and this Alzheimer's Caregiver
• Dimebon Connection Study
• Are Alzheimer's Caregivers the Forgotten?
• A Simple Three Minute Test Can Detect the Earliest Stage of Alzheimer's Disease
• Wii a Useful Tool for Alzheimer's Caregivers
• 2009 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures
• The Mini-Cog Test for Alzheimer's and Dementia

The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People with Alzheimer Disease, Dementia, and Memory Loss

Original content Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room

Questions About Test Your Memory for Alzheimers and Dementia (TYM)

On Wednesday, I published an article about a new memory test for Alzheimer's that can be administered in five minutes. The links to the test and scoring sheet are contained in the original article -- Test Your Memory (TYM) for Alzheimer's or Dementia in Five Minutes.

I am receiving emails from readers and I thought I would address two questions.

One reader asked, "I am curious to hear their opinion, about the level of education for the test taker, and its effect on the validity of the test".

The authors did not specifically assess the effect of education during their testing. In the BMJ article they wrote,

This ceiling effect suggests that education and social class would have only mild effects on the TYM score, but we did not formally assess this. The reason for the low scoring controls was often apparent from the score sheet—lack of interest, reading problems, or a sense of humour.

I will try to talk to researchers and get a clearer answer to this question.

Several readers are asking about the scoring system for the test.

• The control group scored 47 out of 50 (ages 18-70).
• A score equal to, or less than, 42 detects Alzheimer's 93 percent of the time.
• Patients with Alzheimer's scored 33 out of 50.
• The range of scores for patients with Alzheimer's was 9-50.

The main finding of this research

The new "test your memory" (TYM) test is quick to use, examines 10 cognitive skills, and detects 93% of cases of Alzheimer’s disease.

If you would like to read the highly technical paper which was published in the BMJ follow this link -- Self administered cognitive screening test (TYM) for detection of Alzheimer’s disease: cross sectional study.

Have a question, put it in the comments box.

This is the first draft of this article and it will be updated.

For more Insight into Alzheimer's Disease
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Bob DeMarco is an Alzheimer's caregiver and editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room. TheAlzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob taught at the University of Georgia, was an executive at Bear Stearns, the CEO of IP Group, and is a mentor. He has written more than 600 articles with more than 11,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.

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The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People with Alzheimer Disease and Memory Loss in Later Life

Original content the Alzheimer's Reading Room