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The Spanish and english NIH Toolbox in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease: A preliminary report
Author(s) -
Montoya Lucy,
Mora Livier,
Barrera Lillibeth,
Ringman John M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.046752
Subject(s) - asymptomatic , asymptomatic carrier , disease , cognition , audiology , medicine , psychology , psychiatry
Background Autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease (ADAD), in which the future development of AD can be reliably predicted, allows one to sensitively exam cognitive changes occurring in the earliest stages of the disease. The NIH Toolbox (NIHTB) is a standardized battery that comprehensively assesses multiple aspects of neurological function. In the current study we applied the English and Spanish versions of the cognitive and motor tests from the NIHTB to persons with and at‐risk for ADAD to assess its sensitivity to detecting changes occurring in this form of the disease. Method We performed the cognitive, motor, and olfactory tests in the NIHTB in 22 persons with or at‐risk for inheriting ADAD mutations. T‐tests were performed comparing raw scores for non‐carriers to asymptomatic carriers (CDR = 0), mildly affected carriers (CDR = 0.5), and mildly demented carriers (CDR = 1). P values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Result Half of the participants were evaluated in Spanish. Three persons were asymptomatic carriers, 4 carriers had CDR scores of 0.5, 6 carriers had CDR scores of 1, and 9 were non‐carriers. No differences favoring non‐carriers over asymptomatic carriers were found. Mildly affected carriers (CDR = 0.5) performed worse on the picture sequence memory tests (p values < 0.02) and the olfactory identification test (5.8 vs. 7.4, p = 0.02). Carriers with CDR scores of 1.0 performed more poorly on the list sorting test (7 vs. 16.9, p = 0.02), the picture sequence memory test (p’s < 0.007), the dimensional change card test (14.2 vs. 29.6, p = 0.01), the fluid cognition composite score (82 vs. 108, p = 0.02), the odor identification test (6 vs. 7.4, p < 0.05) and walked more slowly on the 4 meter gait test (5.0 vs. 4.2, p = 0.033). Conclusion Though we were limited by our small sample size, the NIHTB preliminarily demonstrated utility in detecting deficits in memory and executive function (fluid cognition) and in motor and olfactory abilities in early ADAD. Further studies will better define its utility in detecting early cognitive deficits in AD in both its English and Spanish forms.