[Early detection of cognitive changes in memory diseases: new cut-off scores for the Finnish version of CERAD neuropsychological battery].

The evaluation of cognitive functions by using CERAD (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease) is recommended as a tool in basic health care for screening of memory diseases. The reliability of this method, adopted in Finland in 1999, has been impaired by the fact that there have been no comprehensive Finnish norms to serve as the basis for the cut-off limits of the test tasks. This article presents the new, revised cut-off values for the CERAD procedure, based on the comparison of Finnish population-based normative data with those of persons having very mild or mild Alzheimer's disease.