title: Assessing clinically relevant cognitive decline: preliminary data on a new method.
abstract: Physiological age-related cognitive decline, practice effect and regression to the mean may interfere with the interpretation of psychometric changes between subsequent neuropsychological evaluations. The standardized regression-based (SRB) change score allows investigators to define clinically relevant cognitive change on an individual basis controlling for these confounding factors. We performed a preliminary study to test its applicability and usefulness in the neuropsychological diagnosis of dementia. We derived a regression equation for the tests of a widely used Italian battery for global cognitive assessment, the Mental Deterioration Battery, in a sample of 20 normal elderly and we tested the potential clinical application of the SRB methodology in two cases of questionable dementia.
authors.affiliation: Neurology Section, San Gerardo Hospital, DNTB University of Milan-Bicocca, Via Donizetti 106, I-20052 Monza, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Isella
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Atzeni
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iurlaro
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Forapani
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Frattola
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Appollonio
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003704:Dementia / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results