BACKGROUND: The five-word test (FWT) uses semantic clues to optimize the encoding and retrieval of 5 items. Our objective was to assess the validity of the FWT as a measure of episodic memory when compared with the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), and its ability to distinguish participants with any dementia and especially Alzheimer disease (AD) from those with only subjective complaints. METHODS: Two hundred participants with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) >15 were prospectively evaluated. The sum of the immediate and delayed free recalls of the FWT is called the free recall score (FRS). The sum of the immediate free, immediate cued, delayed free, and delayed cued recalls is called the total recall score (TRS). A total weighted score (TWS) is calculated using this formula: (free recalls × 2) + cued recalls. RESULTS: The correlation between FRS and the free recall scores of the FCSRT and between TRS and the total recall scores of the FCSRT was significant (r (s) ranges from .74-.84, P < .001). Area under the receiver--operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the MMSE, FRS, TRS, and TWS were not statistically different. A TWS at a cutoff value ≤15 could discriminate any dementia from subjective complaints with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 95.9% or AD from subjective complaints with a sensitivity of 90.2% and a specificity of 95.9%. CONCLUSION: The FWT is a valid test of verbal episodic memory. It is useful to discriminate dementia especially AD from isolated subjective complaints.
BACKGROUND: The five-word test (FWT) uses semantic clues to optimize the encoding and retrieval of 5 items. Our objective was to assess the validity of the FWT as a measure of episodic memory when compared with the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), and its ability to distinguish participants with any dementia and especially Alzheimer disease (AD) from those with only subjective complaints. METHODS: Two hundred participants with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) >15 were prospectively evaluated. The sum of the immediate and delayed free recalls of the FWT is called the free recall score (FRS). The sum of the immediate free, immediate cued, delayed free, and delayed cued recalls is called the total recall score (TRS). A total weighted score (TWS) is calculated using this formula: (free recalls × 2) + cued recalls. RESULTS: The correlation between FRS and the free recall scores of the FCSRT and between TRS and the total recall scores of the FCSRT was significant (r (s) ranges from .74-.84, P < .001). Area under the receiver--operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the MMSE, FRS, TRS, and TWS were not statistically different. A TWS at a cutoff value ≤15 could discriminate any dementia from subjective complaints with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 95.9% or AD from subjective complaints with a sensitivity of 90.2% and a specificity of 95.9%. CONCLUSION: The FWT is a valid test of verbal episodic memory. It is useful to discriminate dementia especially AD from isolated subjective complaints.
Authors: Piotr Lewczuk; Peter Riederer; Sid E O'Bryant; Marcel M Verbeek; Bruno Dubois; Pieter Jelle Visser; Kurt A Jellinger; Sebastiaan Engelborghs; Alfredo Ramirez; Lucilla Parnetti; Clifford R Jack; Charlotte E Teunissen; Harald Hampel; Alberto Lleó; Frank Jessen; Lidia Glodzik; Mony J de Leon; Anne M Fagan; José Luis Molinuevo; Willemijn J Jansen; Bengt Winblad; Leslie M Shaw; Ulf Andreasson; Markus Otto; Brit Mollenhauer; Jens Wiltfang; Martin R Turner; Inga Zerr; Ron Handels; Alexander G Thompson; Gunilla Johansson; Natalia Ermann; John Q Trojanowski; Ilker Karaca; Holger Wagner; Patrick Oeckl; Linda van Waalwijk van Doorn; Maria Bjerke; Dimitrios Kapogiannis; H Bea Kuiperij; Lucia Farotti; Yi Li; Brian A Gordon; Stéphane Epelbaum; Stephanie J B Vos; Catharina J M Klijn; William E Van Nostrand; Carolina Minguillon; Matthias Schmitz; Carla Gallo; Andrea Lopez Mato; Florence Thibaut; Simone Lista; Daniel Alcolea; Henrik Zetterberg; Kaj Blennow; Johannes Kornhuber Journal: World J Biol Psychiatry Date: 2017-10-27 Impact factor: 4.132
Authors: Paul S Aisen; Jeffrey Cummings; Clifford R Jack; John C Morris; Reisa Sperling; Lutz Frölich; Roy W Jones; Sherie A Dowsett; Brandy R Matthews; Joel Raskin; Philip Scheltens; Bruno Dubois Journal: Alzheimers Res Ther Date: 2017-08-09 Impact factor: 6.982