Neuropsychological tests as discriminators between dementia of Alzheimer type and frontotemporal dementia

• The aim of this study was to examine whether cognitive test performance alone could distinguish patients with dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT) from those with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Scores from three neuropsychological tests were used as discriminating variables in 28 cases with postmortem verified diagnoses. The selected tests measured verbal ability, visuospatial ability and verbal memory. Eighty-nine per cent of the sample was correctly classified by discriminant analysis. Evaluating the ability of the obtained discriminant function to differentiate between groups of DAT and FTD in a new, clinically diagnosed sample of 38 cases yielded an overall success rate of 84%. The results suggest that cognitive tests may be helpful for differential diagnosis in the context of a neuropsychiatric examination.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Psykiatri (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Psychiatry (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Geriatrik (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Geriatrics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

adult

aged

Alzheimer disease

article

autopsy

clinical article

clinical trial

cognition

dementia

depth perception

differential diagnosis

discriminant analysis

female

frontal lobe

human

male

neuropsychological test

task performance

verbal behavior

verbal memory

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

ref (subject category)