[Verbal fluency and Alzheimer's disease].
BASIC: The loss of verbal fluency in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been related to the cognitive and functional impairment caused by the disorder.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the value of the different types of verbal fluency examination for the detection of AD.


METHODS
We have compared the results obtained in the study of verbal fluency in 74 patients with probable AD (NINCDS-ARDRA criteria) to a control group of 64 persons of similar age, gender and educational level. Patients were divided in three categories according to the intensity of dementia: very mild (MMSE > 23), mild (MMSE 18-23) and moderate (MMSE 10-17). Semantic and literal verbal fluencies were studied by means of the "set-test", including in the analysis the results in every of four categories and total, the time consumed per category and the sum of all, the number of animal's names and words given in a minute. We also determined the number of animals in every fifteen seconds up to one minute in 66 controls y 97 patients. Results in the different groups were compared using the ANOVA variance and the contrast of means for alpha < or = 0.05.


CONCLUSIONS
The time consumed in saying the names has a great value in detecting AD, with the same or even better significance than the number of words. It is feasible to shorten the examination and use only one category of names. Our results suggest that counting the names of animals given in the first fifteen seconds does not lower the value of the exam and can also suppress a "roof effect" of the test. A short version of semantic verbal fluency examination could be of potential use in general practice where time consuming exams are difficult to implement.
Alberca
R
R
Unidad de enfermedad de Alzheimer y trastornos de memoria, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla.
Salas
D
D
Pérez-Gil
J A
JA
Lozano
P
P
Gil-Néciga
E
E
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014705:Verbal Behavior