Neuropsychological test patterns in men for Alzheimer's and multi-infarct dementia

Abstract

This paper examined three patterns of test performance on the Halstead Reitan Battery (HRB) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), including Fuld's formula, that differentiated Alzheimer's Disease (AD) from cerebrovascular disease, especially Multi-Infarct Dementia (MID). Study 1 and 2 utilized 12 AD subjects and 13 subjects who had transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). All of the subjects in this study were male. The severity of impairment was equated. A WAIS-R deterioration pattern was found for the AD subjects, from which a formula was derived that correctly identified 84% of the subjects. The Fuld formula identified 76%. In regard to the HRB, Motor tests especially were less impaired for AD subjects and the HRB formulas correctly identified about 92% of the subjects. A third study, using an entirely new sample, applied these formulas to 11 AD and 28 MID subjects. The same rate of separation for the HRB formulas was found. Neither the WAIS formula, with the original cutting points, nor did the Fuld formula quite reach significance.