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Challenges in the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: Influence of "family coach ng" on the Mini-Mental State Examination

Department of Medicine (Neurology), Dalhousie University, HaliJax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Donald F. Weaver, MD, PhD, FRCP(C)

Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Chemistry, and Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University, HaliJax, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a commonly used clinical toolfor evaluating the cognitive aspects of mental function. In this study, 40 consecutive patients presenting to a memory disorder clinic and their caregivers were evaluated for coaching of the patient with respect to MMSE content over the 24 hours prior to clinical evaluation. Caregivers completed a questionnaire concerning MMSE practice sessions with the patient prior to the physician encounter; then, the patients were asked to spell the word "WORM" backwards instead of "WORLD" during the MMSE test. Some or all of the MMSE content was reviewed with the patient prior to the interview by 42.5 percent of the caregivers, 17.5 percent ofpatients spelled or attempted to spell "WORLD" backwards instead of "WORM" These results demonstrate that coaching of patients prior to administration of the MMSE is not uncommon, and that this needs to be taken into consideration when forming therapeutic decisions based on MMSE results.

Key Words: Mini-Mental State Examination • patient coaching • caregivers • therapeutic decisions

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American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias®, Vol. 21, No. 2, 109-112 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/153331750602100210


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Gofton, T. Articles by Weaver, D. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gofton, T. Articles by Weaver, D. F. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?