title: [Neuropsychological examination in evaluating dementia].
abstract: Neuropsychological assessment of dementia should be obtained using a two-step procedure: 1) a family physician performs a mental screening; 2) specialists determine the diagnosis after a thorough differential diagnostic process. This second step includes the quantitative neuropsychological assessment of the patients' cognitive functions which has the following purposes: a) to contribute to the differential diagnostic process; b) to aid in diagnosing patients at the earliest stage of dementia; c) to document disease progression and therapy outcomes; and, d) to identify relatively intact areas of cognition to serve as a basis for cognitive therapy. A Swiss consensus to utilize the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD) Neuropsychological Battery as a minimal standard assessment instrument is introduced.
authors.affiliation: Geriatrische Universitätsklinik, Kantonsspital Basel.
authors.forename: A U
authors.initials: AU
authors.lastname: Monsch
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003704:Dementia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests