title: Luria's three-step test: what is it and what does it tell us?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study is to determine if the three-step Luria test is useful for differentiating between cognitive disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective record review of performance on the three-step Luria test was conducted on 383 participants from a university-based dementia clinic. The participants ranged in their diagnosis from frontotemporal dementia (FTD; n = 43), Alzheimer disease (AD; n = 153), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 56), and normal controls (NC; n = 131). Performance of the Luria test was graded as normal or abnormal.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An abnormal test occurred in 2.3% of NC, 21.4% of MCI, 69.8% of FTD, and 54.9% of AD subjects. The frequency of abnormal tests in all diagnostic groups increased with functional impairment as assessed by the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR). When CDR = 3 (severe), 100% of the FTD and 72.2% of the AD subjects had abnormal Luria tests.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The three-step Luria test distinguished NC and persons with MCI from FTD and AD, but did not distinguish FTD from AD subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA. myron.weiner@utsouthwestern.edu
authors.forename: Myron F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Hynan
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rossetti
authors.forename: Jed
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Falkowski
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies