title: Alzheimer's disease patients' cognitive status and course years prior to symptom recognition.
abstract: This is a prospective examination of the cognitive performance and cognitive course of persons in an asymptomatic "preclinical" phase who eventually developed Alzheimer's disease (AD). We compared performances on the Mayo Cognitive Factor Scales (MCFS) of 20 persons in a neurologically normal cohort who subsequently developed AD to the performances of 60 persons who remained free of dementia symptoms. For the AD patients, exams occurred prior to the appearance of dementia symptoms (an average of 4.2 and 1.5 years prior to symptom onset). Results reveal strong group differences on learning and retention, with eventual AD patients scoring lower than controls years prior to reporting symptoms of the disease. There was no significant interaction effect (group x testing session) for memory retention, suggesting that memory decline in this preclinical period may be too slow to be a useful indicator of future AD. A significant interaction (but no group effect) was seen for verbal comprehension.
authors: Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Rochester, Minnesota, USA. cerhan.jane@mayo.edu
authors: Jane H
authors: JH
authors: Cerhan
authors: Robert J
authors: RJ
authors: Ivnik
authors: Glenn E
authors: GE
authors: Smith
authors: Mary M
authors: MM
authors: Machulda
authors: Bradley F
authors: BF
authors: Boeve
authors: David S
authors: DS
authors: Knopman
authors: Ronald C
authors: RC
authors: Petersen
authors: Eric G
authors: EG
authors: Tangalos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013997:Time Factors