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P3‐168: The usefulness of cube copying for evaluating treatment of Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Palmqvist Sebastian,
Hansson Oskar,
Minthon Lennart,
Londos Elisabet
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1016/j.jalz.2008.05.1734
Subject(s) - copying , cube (algebra) , concordance , psychology , medicine , disease , mathematics , combinatorics , political science , law
Aims: Cube copying measures visuospatial ability, which is often impaired in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cube copying was examined as an evaluation of cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) treatment in AD. Methods: Eighty-five ChEI-treated AD patients were included. Cube drawings made at prebaseline, base- line, 6 months, and 12 months were assessed. Cube drawings from 56 healthy individuals were also examined. Results: The healthy individuals remained stable in cube copying, whereas untreated AD patients deterio- rated during a median period of 6 months. When treat- ment was given, the deterioration was interrupted. After 12 months, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) had deteriorated compared with baseline whereas cube copying was unchanged. Conclusions: The results indicate that cube copying can be used to evaluate ChEI treatment. It might also show a more long-lasting response to treatment than MMSE. Cube copying only measures a narrow cogni- tive function and can preferably be used with MMSE, which evaluates visuospatial ability poorly.