Examining the Diagnostic Accuracy of a Novel Performance-based Test for Alzheimer's Disease Screening

Authors

A. M. Reed, Arizona State University
K. Duff, Oregon Health & Science University
L. E. Dibble, University of Utah
S. S. Paul, University of Sydney
Andrew Hooyman, Chapman UniversityFollow
S. Y. Schaefer, Arizona State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-22-2024

Abstract

Affordable, rapid methods for identifying mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are needed. A simple, brief performance-based test involving the learning of functional upper-extremity movements has been developed and is associated with AD pathology and functional decline. However, its specificity to AD relative to other neurodegenerative diseases that present with motor impairment is unknown. This study examined whether this novel test could distinguish between 34 participants diagnosed with mild AD (Clinical Dementia Rating Scale = 0.5-1) from 23 participants with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease (PD) (Hoehn & Yahr = 2-3) using Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis of secondary data from two separate clinical trials. Indicators of diagnostic accuracy demonstrated that the test identified participants with AD, who had worse scores than those with PD, suggesting it may be a viable screening tool for mild AD. Exploratory analyses with a control group (n=52) further showed that test scores were not sensitive to motor dysfunction.

Comments

This article was originally published in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, volume 4, issue 11, in 2024. https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2024.93

Recommended Citation

A.M. Reed, K. Duff, L.E. Dibble, et al. Examining the Diagnostic Accuracy of a Novel Performance-Based Test for Alzheimer’s Disease Screening. J Prev Alz Dis 2024;4(11):903-907; https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2024.93

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.