Researchers assessed the accuracy of a paper and pencil test, dubbed SAGE, in more than 400 patients who were followed for nearly nine years and found that when results from different points in time were compared, age-related memory loss could be distinguished from the early stages of dementia, according to the report published in Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy.
“We found SAGE to be an effective screening tool to identify people who would eventually develop dementia, probably six months earlier than the most used screening tool,” said Dr.
One big advantage of SAGE is that people don’t need to be supervised while they pencil in the answers, Scharre said.
To see whether the SAGE test could distinguish between normal age-related memory loss and the memory problems tied to dementia, Scharre and his colleagues reviewed the charts of 665 consecutive patients who had come to the Ohio State Memory Disorders Clinic.
Of the 424 individuals who fit the criteria for inclusion in the study, 40 were determined to have subjective cognitive decline (patients who felt their memories were getting worse, but they still tested in the normal range), 94 had mild cognitive impairment that did not convert to dementia, 70 with MCI did progress to dementia and 220 were found to have dementia on their initial visit.
Among patients who eventually progressed from MCI to dementia, scores dropped 1.91 points per year on the SAGE test and 1.68 points per year on the MMSE.
Among the patients whose initial scores indicated Alzheimer’s disease dementia, SAGE scores dropped 1.82 points per year and MMSE scores dropped 2.38 points per year.
Scores remained stable for patients who had subjective cognitive decline and those with MCI that did not progress.
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