(June 12, 2009 - Insidermedicine) A new test of intellectual faculties may be easier to use and more accurate than other tests currently used to diagnose dementia, according to research published in the British Medical Journal.

Here are some reasons why is it important to identify dementia early:

•    The condition shares symptoms with other, treatable, conditions, such as infections, depression, drug reactions, and alcohol abuse

•    Many of the medications used to treat dementia work best when started early on in the course of the disease

•    It provides time for the sufferer and family to make decisions for the future

Researchers from Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge designed a simple test of intellectual functioning called Test Your Memory, or TYM. It involves ten tasks designed to evaluate different aspects of intellectual functioning, including sentence copying, semantic knowledge, calculation, verbal fluency, and recall ability. They had 540 adults with no history of dementia aged 18 to 95 and 139 patients with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's take the test.

The Test Your Memory Test successfully identified 93% of those with Alzheimer's disease, while a standard test only identified 52%. The TYM also took less time to administer and covered a wider range of intellectual skills.

We had a chance to speak with Dr. Jeremy Brown, the principal investigator of this study, who offered some further insight.
 
While the TYM requires further testing in a wider variety of individuals, today's research suggests it could be a very useful tool for health care professionals to quickly and easily identify patients with dementia.

For Insidermedicine In Depth, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma