title: Responsiveness of the QUALID to Improved Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to determine whether the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia (QUALID) scale is responsive to changes in behaviour due to therapeutic intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  31 long-term care residents with moderate to severe AD and agitation/aggression entered a three-month, open-label trial of memantine 10 mg BID. The relationships between the QUALID and BPSD, global improvement, and cognition at baseline and endpoint, as well as the changes in these scales as a result of treatment, were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Despite a significant improvement in agitation and aggression (NPI agitation, F3,90 = 3.721, p =.014; CMAI total, F3,90 = 6.301, p =.001) and overall behaviour (NPI total, F3,90 = 4.035, p =.010), there was no significant change in QUALID score (t30 = -0.278, p =.783). The QUALID was correlated with NPI at baseline (τ = 0.270, p =.037) and endpoint (τ = 0.404, p =.002), but change scores were not correlated (τ = 0.107, p =.412).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the QUALID correlates with behavioural measures at single time points, it does not appear to correlate with changes longitudinally associated with treatment.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychopharmacology Research Program, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON;
authors.forename: Hadas
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Benhabib
authors.forename: Krista L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Lanctôt
authors.forename: Goran M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Eryavec
authors.forename: Abby
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Herrmann
keywords: QUALID; dementia; quality of life