Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's - Page 2

Over the last 20 years, doctors have been using the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) to test patients for Alzheimer's and dementia in their offices. Doctors like the test because they can administer the test in a few minutes and get on to their next patient. The MMSE, the most widely used test for Alzheimer's, has an accuracy of 52 percent. If you are worried about Alzheimer's or dementia and your doctor offers to administer the MMSE, tell him to forget it. You can flip a coin and get a similar result.

If you are interested in the tests follow the appropriate link:

• Go here for the Test Your Memory test.
• Go here for the TYM Scoring Sheet.
• Go here for the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE).

For the research article, Self-Administered Cognitive Screening Test (TYM) for Detection of Alzheimer's, go here. The article contains all the details of the research study and information on the scoring of the different groups.

If you decide to self-administer the test, or test a relative, keep a few things in mind:

• A score of 47 or higher probably means that the person is not likely to suffer from Alzheimer's at the time of the test.
• A poor score could be caused by factors other than Alzheimer's. These include, but are not limited to, dyslexia or anxiety.

The test is not intended as the final diagnostic. It could be useful in identifying Alzheimer's early; but if a person scores poorly, a thorough evaluation by a specialist or a neurologist would be necessary to confirm the result.

Article Author: Bob DeMarco

Bob DeMarco is an Alzheimer's caregiver and editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room.

The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for insight into Alzheimer's disease.

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