title: Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale: the validation of the scale in Greece in elderly demented patients and normal subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) is a scale specifically structured for the assessment of the cognitive decline and behavioral disorder seen in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The validation of ADAS in the Greek population.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and thirty-one subjects took part in the current study. Fifty of them were nondemented subjects (35 normal subjects and 15 suffering from age-associated memory impairment) and 81 demented patients (68 AD patients and 13 vascular dementia, VD, patients).
  
  
  METHODS
  Diagnosis was made according to DSM-IV and NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. Hachinski Ischemia Scale was used to help to differentiate between AD and VD patients. Geriatric Depression Scale was used to quantify depressive symptomatology. MMSE and CAMCOG were used to assess the cognitive functioning of all subjects and FRSSD for the assessment of daily functioning. All subjects underwent a complete laboratory and biochemical testing, according to the protocol proposed in CAMDEX. All demented patients underwent brain CT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ADAS-Cog discriminates perfectly AD patients and nondemented subjects at the score level of 13/14 and/or 14/15. Principal components analysis, using only AD patients, revealed 4 factors: cognitive, psychotic, depressive, and 'severe apraxia' factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ADAS is suitable for use in the discrimination between AD patients and nondemented subjects. It is also suitable for a more comprehensive assessment of the clinical symptomatology of AD patients, and for the evaluation of new therapeutic methods for AD, as well.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsolaki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fountoulakis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nakopoulou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kazis
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Mohs
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D004493:Education; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales