Research from Ohio University (United States) published in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences confirms the feasibility and effectiveness of this new preliminary screening tool for Alzheimer’s disease, the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE) test.
This self-administered “gero-cognitive” test was developed by researchers at Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University. It takes less than 15 minutes to complete with just pencil, paper and a computer. It is according to its creators “quite reliable in assessing cognitive abilities. “
To certify the validity and feasibility of this new tool, researchers at Ohio University asked 1,047 volunteers aged 50 or over to perform this SAGE test to detect and assess memory loss. or early cognitive dementia.
The SAGE test that can be performed at home
This test which covers spatio-temporal orientation (being able to give the day and time from memory, draw a clock and specify the time), language (naming images), reasoning and mental arithmetic , visio-spatial skills (drawing a cube in 3D), solving geometry problems and memory capacity, made it possible to identify the first signs of cognitive decline in 80% of cases.
This test accessible on the internet can be performed by patients at home. Carried out regularly, it would make it possible to analyze the evolution of the cognitive functions of patients over time and to identify whether there is deterioration and a need for medical care.
This inexpensive test therefore seems essential, because for doctors specializing in Alzheimer’s, early treatmentof the disease improves the quality of life of patients.
In 2012, 24 million people were living with Alzheimer’s disease worldwide. There are 4.6 million new cases each year, or one new case every 7 seconds.
In France, the number of people affected is estimated at 850,000, or 1.2% of the population. But less than one in 2 people affected by Alzheimer’s disease are diagnosed.