Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014;39(3):575-82.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-130524.

10-minute delayed recall from the modified mini-mental state test predicts Alzheimer's disease pathology

Scott A Lyness  1 , Ae Young Lee  2 , Chris Zarow  1 , Evelyn L Teng  1 , Helena C Chui  1
Affiliations

10-minute delayed recall from the modified mini-mental state test predicts Alzheimer's disease pathology

Scott A Lyness et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2014.

Abstract

We compared the sensitivity and specificity of two delayed recall scores from the Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) test with consensus clinical diagnosis to differentiate cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) versus non-AD pathologies. At a memory disorders clinic, 117 cognitively impaired patients were administered a baseline 3MS test and received a contemporaneous consensus clinical diagnosis. Their brains were examined after death about 5 years later. Using logistic regression with forward selection to predict pathologically defined AD versus non-AD, 10-min delayed recall entered first (p = 0.001), followed by clinical diagnosis (p = 0.02); 1-min delayed recall did not enter. 10-min delayed recall scores ≤4 (score range = 0-9) were 87% sensitive and 47% specific in predicting AD pathology; consensus clinical diagnosis was 82% sensitive and 45% specific. For the 57 patients whose initial Mini-Mental State Examination scores were ≥19 (the median), 3MS 10-min delayed recall scores ≤4 showed some loss of sensitivity (80%) but a substantial gain in specificity (77%). In conclusion, 10-min delayed recall score on the brief 3MS test distinguished between AD versus non-AD pathology about 5 years before death at least as well as consensus clinical diagnosis that requires much more comprehensive information and complex deliberation.

Keywords: Autopsy; Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS); consensus; dementia; memory disorders; neuropsychological tests; sensitivity and specificity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for 3MS 10-min delayed recall, 3MS 1-min delayed recall, and clinical diagnosis, in distinguishing AD from non-AD pathology. N = 117.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chui H, Lee A. Clinical criteria for dementia subtypes. In: Qizilbash N, Schneider LS, Chui H, Tariot P, Brodaty H, Kaye J, Erkinjuntti T, editors. Evidence-Based Dementia Practice. Oxford, England: Blackwell Science; 2003. pp. 106–119.
    1. Grossman M, Libon DJ, Forman MS, Massimo L, Wood E, Moore P, Anderson C, Farmer J, Chatterjee A, Clark CM, Coslett HB, Hurtig HI, Lee VM-Y, Trojanowski JQ. Distinct antemortem profiles in patients with pathologically defined frontotemporal dementia. Arch Neurol. 2007;64:1601–1609. - PubMed
    1. Hamilton JM, Salmon DP, Galasko D, Delis DC, Hansen LA, Masliah E, Thomas RG, Thal LJ. A comparison of episodic memory deficits in neuropathologically-confirmed dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease. J Int Neuropsych Soc. 2004;10:689–697. - PubMed
    1. Heyman A, Fillenbaum GG, Gearing M, Mirra SS, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Peterson B, Pieper C. Comparison of Lewy body variant of Alzheimer’s disease with pure Alzheimer’s disease: Consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer’s disease, Part XIX. Neurology. 1999;52:1839–1844. - PubMed
    1. Kraybill ML, Larson EB, Tsuang DW, Teri L, McCormick WC, Bowen JD, Kukull WA, Leverenz JB, Cherrier MM. Cognitive differences in dementia patients with autopsy-verified AD Lewy body pathology, or both. Neurology. 2005;64:2069–2073. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types