Relationship Between Functional and Neuropsychological Performance in Early Alzheimer Disease

Summary:
Twenty-four subjects with Alzheimer disease underwent cognitive and functional assessment. Functional assessment by caregivers consisted of a 25-item bipolar analog scale measuring activities of daily living and social behaviors divided into four functional domains: memory, attention/executive abilities, everyday skills, and self-care. Cognitive assessment consisted of standardized neuropsychological tests designed to evaluate five cognitive domains: episodic memory, attention/executive function, semantic memory, visuospatial function, and auditory–verbal short-term (working) memory. Functional assessment correlated well with overall severity as measured by Mini Mental State Examination (r = −0.733). Analysis of individual cognitive and functional domains revealed no significant correlation between episodic memory and functional performance. By contrast, functional…

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