A take-at-home test that takes less than 15 minutes to complete could allow people to screen themselves for Alzheimer's.
The Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE test) could work as a tool to call attention to early Alzheimer's signs in large groups of people, an Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center news release reported. The test is conducted with only a pen and piece of paper.
Researchers visited 45 separate communities and asked people aged 50 and older to take the quick and easy self-examination. Out of the 1,047 people who took the test 28 percent were found to have cognitive impairment.
The test is meant to be taken at home; if the results show cognitive impairment the test-taker should bring those results into their physician. The test could help point out early warning signs of Alzheimer's and other cognitive issues that are often overlooked during routine exams.
"What we found was that this SAGE self-administered test correlated very well with detailed cognitive testing," Douglas Scharre, who developed the test with his Ohio State research team, said. "If we catch this cognitive change really early, then we can start potential treatments much earlier than without having this test."
The test cannot definitively diagnose Alzheimer's, but it can call attention to the warning signs. About 80 percent of individuals with "mild thinking and memory issues" will test positive on the SAGE; 95 percent of those who have not cognitive issues will test negative.
Participants are tested on: "orientation (month + date + year); language (verbal fluency + picture naming); reasoning/computation (abstraction + calculation); visuospatial (three-dimensional construction + clock drawing); executive (problem solving) and memory abilities," the news release reported.
Alzheimer's and dementia treatments have improved greatly over the past several years; the problem is patients often wait years after the first signs appear to receive treatment.
"Hopefully, this test will help change those situations," Scharre said. "We are finding better treatments, and we know that patients do much better if they start the treatments sooner than later."
