title: The Progression of Alzheimer's Disease Can Be Assessed with a Short Version of the CERAD Neuropsychological Battery: The Kuopio ALSOVA Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Measuring and predicting Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression is important in order to adjust treatment and allocate care resources. We aimed to identify a combination of subtests from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Neuropsychological Battery (CERAD-NB) that best correlated with AD progression in follow-up as well as to predict AD progression.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 236 participants with very mild [Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) = 0.5] or mild AD (CDR = 1.0) at baseline were followed up for 3 years. The CERAD-NB and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were used to assess cognition, and the CDR scale sum of boxes (CDR-sb) was employed to evaluate AD progression. Generalized estimating equations were used to develop models to predict and follow up disease progression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Performance declined on all CERAD-NB subtests. The ability of the separate subtests to distinguish between groups (baseline CDR = 0.5 or 1.0) diminished during follow-up. The best combination of subtests that explained 62% of CDR-sb variance in follow-up included verbal fluency, constructional praxis, the clock drawing test, and the MMSE. Baseline values of the same combination predicted 37% of the CDR-sb change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A short version of the CERAD-NB subtests provides a promising and time-efficient alternative for measuring cognitive deterioration during AD follow-up. Although the initial signs of AD include memory difficulties, it may be useful to assess non-memory tasks in follow-up.
authors: School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Kuopio, Finland ; Neurology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Kuopio, Finland.
authors: Ilona
authors: I
authors: Hallikainen
authors: Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Unit, School of Pharmacy, Kuopio, Finland.
authors: Janne
authors: J
authors: Martikainen
authors: Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health, Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Mass., USA.
authors: Pei-Jung
authors: PJ
authors: Lin
authors: Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health, Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Mass., USA.
authors: Joshua T
authors: JT
authors: Cohen
authors: Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland.
authors: Raquel
authors: R
authors: Lahoz
authors: Department of Nursing Science, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland ; Development, Clinical Education and Research Unit of Nursing, Kuopio, Finland.
authors: Tarja
authors: T
authors: Välimäki
authors: Neurology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Kuopio, Finland.
authors: Kristiina
authors: K
authors: Hongisto
authors: Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Unit, School of Pharmacy, Kuopio, Finland.
authors: Saku
authors: S
authors: Väätäinen
authors: Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
authors: Matti
authors: M
authors: Vanhanen
authors: Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health, Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Mass., USA.
authors: Peter J
authors: PJ
authors: Neumann
authors: Neurology, NeuroCenter, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
authors: Tuomo
authors: T
authors: Hänninen
authors: Neurology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Kuopio, Finland ; Neurology, NeuroCenter, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
authors: Anne Maria
authors: AM
authors: Koivisto
keywords: Clinical Dementia Rating; Cognition; Dementia; Executive function; Follow-up studies; Mini-Mental State Examination