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Computerised cognitive testing of individuals with Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Gutman Michael,
Moskovic Ethan,
Jeret Joseph S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of intellectual disability research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1365-2788
pISSN - 0964-2633
DOI - 10.1111/jir.12227
Subject(s) - psychology , neuropathology , population , alzheimer's disease , anxiety , cognition , cognitive test , visual memory , depression (economics) , audiology , disease , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health , economics , macroeconomics
Background Although Alzheimer's disease neuropathology is present by age 40 years, in Down's syndrome, ante‐mortem diagnosis is difficult. No standard for cognitive assessment is well established or easy to administer. Method We used a simple, widely available computerised test (NeuroTrax Moderate to Severe Impairment Assessment Battery, Mindstreams, Newark, NJ) to evaluate 14 patients in this population. Orientation, memory, executive function, verbal function and visual spatial function were evaluated every 6 months for 18 months. Results Mean scaled scores in this longitudinal study were evaluated with repeated measures analysis of variance. Memory, executive function, verbal function and visual spatial function scores did not significantly change. There was no significant depression or anxiety on self‐reported measures. Conclusions Reproducibility of test results supports the reliability of this battery to quantify function and prospectively follow performance in this population over an 18‐month period.