Present status and perspective of cognitive assessment in dementia

Morihiro Sugishita

University of Niigata Rehabilitation Graduate School

    1) Recently the psychological test in dementia has been involved in definition/diagnosis of dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and normal control.
    2) It also has played an important role in classification of dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
    3) In memory assessment of MCI and dementia, delayed recall of one paragraph of Logical Memory with a cutoff score of education has been often employed. However, the cutoff score of intelligence quotient estimated by the 4 intelligence subtests could be more effective than that of education.
    4) When a Japanese version of the English original test is constructed, the equivalences between the Japanese version and the original test should be maintained, which are convenient to compare the data of US population with those of Japanese population.
    5) Some Japanese versions of English original tests are not well translated. Some Japanese versions of the tests are not equivalent of the English original version. Five tests (MMSE, CDR, GDS-S, ADAS-COG and NPI-Q) among 15 tests employed in US-ADNI (Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative) were newly translated in Japanese, and the 5 Japanese version of the tests which are almost equivalent to the English original version were constructed to use them in Japanese-ADNI.
    6) After the Japanese version of test is constructed, it is necessary to measure validity and reliability in the Japanese population. However, high quality of translation is important and prerequisite. Even the Japanese version of test with inaccurate translation, high validity and reliability may be obtained.
    7) All individuals administering the ADAS-COG and the CDR must be certified in US-ADNI certifications. The certification systems for the two tests were constructed in Japanese-ADNI in the same way as in US-ADNI. This kind of certification is necessary both in research and in clinical practice.

Address correspondence to Dr. Morihiro Sugishita, University of Niigata Rehabilitation Graduate School (2-16 Kaminoyama, Murakami-shi, Niigata 958-0053, Japan)