Screening test for early dementia

CAMBRIDGE, England, June 15 (UPI) -- A newly developed cognitive test for detecting Alzheimer's disease is quicker and more accurate than many current tests, researchers in Britain said.

Researchers at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge designed and evaluated a new cognitive test, called TYM for "test your memory," in the detection of Alzheimer's disease.

The TYM is a series of 10 tasks -- including ability to copy a sentence, semantic knowledge, calculation, verbal fluency and recall ability. The ability to do the test is also scored, the researchers said.

Each task carries a maximum possible score of 50 points. The test is designed to use minimal operator time and to be suitable for non-specialist use.

The test was completed by 540 healthy individuals -- controls -- ages 18-95 with no history of neurological disease, memory problems or brain injury. A further 139 patients with diagnosed Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment were also tested.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found controls completed the test in an average time of 5 minutes and gained an average score of 47 out of 50.

Patients with Alzheimer's disease performed much poorer than controls, with an average score of 33 out of 50. Patients with mild cognitive impairment scored an average of 45 out of 50.