Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's -- Self Assessment Tests

The five tests listed below are self assessment tests for Alzheimer's, dementia, and mild cognitive impairment.

If you decide to administer one or more of these tests and the results of the tests seem suspicious you should consult with your personal care physician or a neurologist for a more thorough memory examination and diagnosis.

#1 Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's Dementia in 15 Minutes (SAGE)

This is my number one recommendation for testing memory.

The latest weapon in the war against Alzheimer’s disease is not a fancy new brain scanner or a computer device. Instead, it’s a it a 15 question written exam that could have a dramatic impact on a major problem -- the early detection of Alzheimer's disease.

This handwritten self-assessment test can be taken in less than 15 minutes. SAGE is a reliable tool for evaluating memory and cognitive ability. Findings confirming the validity of the tool were reported in the journal Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders.

Go here to learn more about the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE) including instructions, the test, and scoring system.

Also see:

• Why Test Your Memory Test for Alzheimer's Dementia is Important -- And How You Can Be a Difference Maker
• Simple Pen-and-Paper Alzheimer's Memory Test is Important News (SAGE)

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#2 Alzheimer's Clock Draw Test

Drawing a clock by hand is one of several useful screening tools that can help to detect mild cognitive impairment, dementia, or Alzheimer's. This test can help you, or your doctor, differentiate between normal aging and possible dementia.

If you administer the test on your own and find the results either disconcerting or suspicious, schedule an appointment with your personal care physician. Take the copy of the clock test with you to the doctor appointment, and show the test to the doctor.

Go here for more on the clock draw test including scoring.
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#3 Test Your Memory (TYM) for Alzheimer's or Dementia in Five Minutes

This test is designed for people that live in England. Results were published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

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

Go here for the information and follow the links for the test, scoring and scientific study.
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#4 The Mini-Cog Test for Alzheimer's and Dementia

The Mini-Cog is a simple three minute test that is useful in detecting mild cognitive impairment, dementia, or an early stage of Alzheimer's. The research study, included below, showed that the test has a high degree of accuracy (83 percent).

Go here for more information.
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#5 Dr Oz Alzheimer's Memory Quiz (Test)

This memory quiz is based of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VAMC) St. Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) examination and is an assessment tool for informational and entertainment purposes only.

Go here to take the test.


More About the Alzheimer's Reading Room



Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Alzheimer's Reading Room: Vitamin B12 May Protect Against Brain Shrinkage in Old Age

These findings should be of special interest to baby boomers now entering their 60s.

A study conducted by researchers at the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing (OPTIMA) found that people with higher levels of vitamin B12 were six times less likely to experience brain volume loss. Vitamin B12, a nutrient found in meat, fish and milk, may protect against brain volume loss in older people. The researchers studied 107 volunteers age 61 to 87 who did not have cognitive impairment when they volunteered. The volunteers underwent yearly MRI brain scans, cognitive and memory tests and physical exams for five years.

This study suggests that simply adjusting our diets to consume more vitamin B12 through eating meat, fish, fortified cereals or milk may be something we can easily adjust to prevent brain shrinkage and so perhaps save our memory, says Anna Vogiatzoglou of the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at Oxford University. Research shows that vitamin B12 deficiency is a public health problem, especially among the elderly, so more vitamin B12 intake could help reverse this problem. Without carrying out a clinical trial, we acknowledge that it is still not known whether B12 supplementation would actually make a difference in elderly persons at risk for brain shrinkage.

Newly Discovered Antibody May Be Body's Natural Defense Against Alzheimer's (Gammagard)

In what could prove to be an important development in the search for a treatment of Alzheimer's disease, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center physician-scientists say the results of an initial (Phase I) clinical study provide encouraging evidence that antibodies derived from human plasma can capture the beta-amyloid protein in blood and exert positive effects on patients' thinking abilities.


Read more at the Alzheimer's Reading Room: Newly Discovered Antibody May Be Body's Natural Defense Against Alzheimer's (Gammagard)

Mental Activity Helps to Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Taken directly from the Rush Memory and Aging Project news release.

How often older adults read a newspaper, play chess, or engage in other mentally stimulating activities is related to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center.

Taken directly from the Rush Memory and Aging Project news release.


Frequent Brain Stimulation in Old Age Reduces Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease


(CHICAGO) – How often older adults read a newspaper, play chess, or engage in other mentally stimulating activities is related to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center published June 27 in the online edition of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

For the study, more than 700 people in Chicago with an average age of 80 underwent yearly cognitive testing for up to five years. Participants were part of the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a longitudinal study of more than 1,200 older people. Of the participants, 90 developed Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers also performed a brain autopsy on the 102 participants who died.

The study found that a cognitively active person in old age was 2.6 times less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s disease than a cognitively inactive person in old age. This association remained after controlling for past cognitive activity, lifetime socioeconomic status, and current social and physical activity.

Researchers say the findings may be used to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

“Alzheimer’s disease is among the most feared consequences of old age,” said study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, a neuropsychologist at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center. “The enormous public health problems posed by the disease are expected to increase during the coming decades as the proportion of old people in the United States increases. This underscores the urgent need for strategies to prevent the disease or delay its onset.”

Wilson says the study also found frequent cognitive activity during old age such as visiting a library or attending a play, was associated with reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment, a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia, and less rapid decline in cognitive function.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center is one of 29 NIA-supported Alzheimer's Disease Centers across the U.S. which conduct basic science, clinical, and social and behavioral research on dementia and AD. General information on aging and aging research can be viewed at the NIA's home website, www.nia.nih.gov. For more information on the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, visit www.rush.edu.



The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers: Looking After Yourself and Your Family While Helping an Aging Parent


"ACTIONALZ.ORG", alzheimer's disease, blog, brain, stimulation, caregiver, care giving, chess, mental-health, National Institute on Aging, neurology, prevent, Rush University Medical Center

Loneliness and Alzheimer's Linked

"People who are lonely are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, a large US study has suggested."

Read this article at The Senior Reading Room

Huperzine A in Alzheimer's Disease-The Clinical Trial

"The Huperzine A in Alzheimer's Disease clinical trial is currently open and recruiting patients. This is a Phase II clinical trial."

Read about the study including requirements and available locations at The Alzheimer's Reading Room: Huperzine A in Alzheimer's Disease-The Clinical Trial.

Alzheimer's Vaccine Patch Works in Mice

"The Alzheimer's vaccine being tested works by triggering the immune system to recognize and attack Ab -- a protein that abnormally builds up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients."

Read the entire article Alzheimer's Vaccine Patch Works in Mice

New Gene Linked to Alzheimer's

"It fits into what we believe is the main mechanism of Alzheimer's already," Gandy said. "This reinforces the idea that we're on the right track with therapies already in the pipeline, while also suggesting a totally new strategy that could be used to target entirely new classes of drugs."

To read the article in its entirety go to the The Alzheimer's Reading Room.

Keeping Time with Alzheimer"s

This is an excellent article that can be read in its entirety at the Alzheimer's Reading Room.


"When guilt catches up with me, I am on the bike path above the creek, ducks swimming along beside me. Guilt rolls off our backs like you know what. Alone at last, I walk at my own pace. Fast. Fast is what Ben can no longer do -- and fast is slow compared with the woman coming toward me as I near the marsh. She is wearing shorts and earphones. She smiles and I smile back. What a good idea this is, walking out in the sun and cold. What could produce better clarity? I don't have to work it out the first day. I don't have to do it right the first time."

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Huperzine A in Alzheimer's Disease

I just finished reading an interesting article about Huperzine A. You can get an excerpt, the link to the article and the link to the clinical trial on the next page.




Follow this link to get the information about the clinical trial, Huperzine A in Alzheimer's Disease


Alzheimer's herb

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Karen says when it comes to her mom, "It made her want to get up out of the chair, it made her want to go out to the pool and swim laps, it made her want to go out and prune her flowers."

Another benefit Betty's family has seen: she has lost 50 pounds because she has been more active. Dr. DeCarli said this is just one example of clinical trials in action.

Follow this link to the complete article, Herb


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