Alzheimer Disease Review

Article ID: WMC001681
ISSN 2046-1690
Alzheimers Disease: Comprehensive Review of

Aetiology, Diagnosis, Assessment
Recommendations and Treatment.
Corresponding Author:
Dr. Simon B Thompson,
Associate Professor, Psychology Research Centre, Bournemouth University, BH12 5BB - United Kingdom
Submitting Author:
Dr. Simon B Thompson,
Associate Professor, Psychology Research Centre, Bournemouth University, BH12 5BB - United Kingdom
Article ID: WMC001681

Article Type: Review articles
Submitted on:04-Mar-2011, 10:53:28 AM GMT
Published on: 04-Mar-2011, 02:06:32 PM GMT
Article URL: http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/1681

Subject Categories:AGING
Keywords:Aetiology, Aging, Alzheimer's Disease, Assessment, Dementia, Diagnosis, Learning Disability,
Neuropsychology, Test Battery, Treatment
How to cite the article:Thompson S B. Alzheimers Disease: Comprehensive Review of Aetiology, Diagnosis,
Assessment Recommendations and Treatment. . WebmedCentral AGING 2011;2(3):WMC001681
Source(s) of Funding:
Ethics approval - not applicable; Source of funding - None
Competing Interests:
Competing interests - None
WebmedCentral > Review articles
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WMC001681
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Alzheimers Disease: Comprehensive Review of

Aetiology, Diagnosis, Assessment
Recommendations and Treatment.
Author(s): Thompson S B
Abstract
Alzheimers disease is a growing concern amongst
clinicians and researchers, particularly because of the
increase in referrals to hospitals and clinics. Longevity
brings with it an increase in people with both organic
and psychogenic disorders. The link between Downs
syndorm and Alzheimers disease helps our
understanding of the disease but also presents us with
complexity in terms of assessment and service
provision.
Our understanding of the aetiology Alzheimers
disease has advanced; in is timely to consider how
clinical assessment may also be improved.
Introduction
Increasing longevity, especially of people with a
learning disability, has brought with it a seemingly
ever-increasing demand on health and social services
which in turn has seen an increase in research activity
(eg Thompson, 2000). In particular, clinical psychology
services in the United Kingdom (UK) have seen an
increasing number of referrals for assessing older
clients who have poor cognitive functioning,
particularly Alzheimers disease, and for providing
advice for carers about clients who have declining
memory ability (Thompson, 1993a). Supportive
consultation with staff and clients alike is important
and has increased the demands on all services as the
size of the older population has grown.
In the UK, over 700,000 people have dementia (Milne,
2010). In the United States, Alzheimers disease is the
seventh leading cause of all deaths and increased
46.1 per cent between 2000 and 2006. In 2009, nearly
1 million families and other unpaid caregivers provided
an estimated 12.5 billion hours of care to persons with
Alzheimers disease and other dementias, totalling
$144 billion (Alzheimers Association, 2010). More
men than women have dementia, primarily because
women live longer, on average, than men.
Identifying signs of declining memory and general
cognitive functioning early on clearly has many
advantages (Goldblum, Gomez & Dalla Barba, 1998),

including the planning and provision of specialist care.
Researchers and clinicians have been interested in
the effects of ageing on the normal population for
some considerable time (eg Holden, 1989) and have
compared common impairments in short-term memory
(Morris, 1996); psychophysiological differences and
age-related memory decline (Young & Kramer, 1991).
The difficulties of a differential diagnosis between
depression and dementia have also been examined
(de Groot, et al., 2000a; OBrien, et al., 1996;
Thompson, 1997; 2000) but the stumbling block of
researchers has often been the transferability of
measures to different client groups (Thompson,
2001a). Often standardised assessments are too
difficult or are culturally-dependent; testing some
clients results in floor or ceiling effects; and other tests
are simply too demanding of a person's attention or
concentration.
Normal memory
In order to understand the complexities of dementia, it
is necessary to describe what happens in normal
ageing and understanding what can go wrong and
gives rise to abnormal conditions such as dementia.
Ageing can be distinguished in terms of biological,
social and psychological disciplines, but there is often
a great overlap and interaction between them. For
example, a physical change such as arthritis can limit
mobility, which in turn can reduce involvement in
social activities or other previous sources of enjoyment
(Alcott, 1993). The influence of one aspect of ageing
on another should also be remembered; this is
important when considering and comparing past and
present cognitive functions within the same person.
Defining 'normal' is a difficult task and it is surprising
how 'normal' and 'abnormal' activities and attitudes
often overlap. The blurring of boundaries occurs
between different cultures, different environments or
even between individuals. A misconception is to
consider normality as distinct and opposite to
abnormality when in fact 'normality' refers to the 'range
around the middle of a dimension (eg height) with two
extremes at opposite ends (very tall and very short),
rather than one extreme' (Alcott, 1993). Different
people have their own opinion about normality and
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hence expectancies in ageing are perceived differently

between individuals. With the advance of medicines
and technology, people are generally living longer and
so more people are exposed to older people and are
witness to the variations in ageing of relatives and
friends. In turn, people's understanding of normal
ageing is being constantly revised and so too are their
expectancies of themselves and others.
Normal ageing brings with it changes, not just to an
individual's appearances, however subtle, but also
certain changes to the higher mental functions or
'cognitive' functions (Allen, et al., 1997; Freidl, et al.,
1997). Memory can also be affected (Craik, 1994;
Small, et al, 1995), sometimes because the individual
has failed to receive information correctly, or
sometimes because it can no longer be effectively
encoded or stored (Nyberg, et al., 1996). The effect of
ageing on memory, particularly episodic memory
(Morris, 1994a), is very often one of the first of the
cognitive functions to be noticed by others and can
cause considerable distress to the individual and to
relatives, close friends and carers. Deterioration in
memory functioning is characteristic of dementia
(Mitrushina, Uchiyama & Satz, 1995) but it can also
indicate other dysfunctions which should always be
considered in any assessment.
Memory functioning has been recognised as follows:
(i) Short-term and long-term memory Short-term
memory, now elaborated into the concept of working
memory (Baddeley, 1992), is the system which allows
one to remember a new telephone number while one
is dialling it, so long as one is not distracted.
Long-term memory allows one to remember a familiar
telephone number from day to day and year to year
(Collerton, 1993).
(i) Semantic and episodic memory Different types of
knowledge appear to be stored differently. A
distinction drawn initially between episodic and
semantic memories (Tulving, 1972) and, more latterly,
a contrast between procedural and declarative
memories has gained acceptance (Cohen & Squire,
1981). Episodic memories are for particular events,
while semantic memories are context-free facts. For
example, knowing what I had for breakfast is an
episodic memory; knowing that the word breakfast
means a morning meal is a semantic memory
(Collerton, 1993).
(ii) Declarative and procedural memory Both
semantic and episodic memories may be subsumed
under this heading (which represent the memory for
facts). Procedural memory is for skills and routines
and may include some types of sensory stimuli. For
example, knowing how to drive a car is a procedural

memory, knowing how the engine works is declarative
(Collerton, 1993).
Generally, older people can learn as much as younger
people (Fisk, et al., 1997), but more time is needed for
them to achieve the same level of learning as they
cannot process and 'absorb' information as quickly as
younger people (Salthouse & Meinz, 1995).
Sometimes this speed reduction becomes noticeable
and marked and may accompany the onset of
depression (Krishnan, 1991). If memory has noticeably
changed and continues to do so it can indicate the
signs of a dementing process, if it is accompanied by
another failure in cognitive function (APA, 1994).
Changes in language abilities can also be
characteristic of dementia, but as an effect of the
normal ageing process, people's voice characteristics
tend to change with age with the pitch becoming
higher at the fifth decade, the resonance thinner, and
the volume lower (Alcott, 1993). Various factors, such
as smoking, stooped posture, unclean environment
(eg dust) or prolonged abuse of the voice can
contribute to these changes. Ill-fitting dentures,
toothlessness or weakening of the muscles involved in
speech production can all hinder speech and it is
worthwhile investigating all practical aspects of a
person's living environment and hygiene before
drawing conclusions about a person's abilities or
cognitive status.
Verbal skills, particularly the well-learned skills of
reading, writing, vocabulary, and word usage, tend to
be maintained (Moss & Patel, 1992); and the general
intellectual status of healthy older people, as
measured by neuropsychological tests, tends to
remain within normal limits through the eighth decade
(Simone & Baylis, 1997). Also, age-related decrement
in semantic memory organisation and functioning are
minimal if not absent (Goldblum, et al., 1998).
Arithmetic and memory tests that show decreased
performance in older people, for example, Digits
Backward of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised (Wechsler, 1981), tend to reflect impaired
concentration and mental tracking rather than
decreased cognitive functioning (Parkin, Walter &
Hunkin, 1995). Contrary to conventional belief, normal
ageing processes do not affect the immediate memory
span in older people (Nyberg, et al., 1996).
Personality also plays a large part in normal ageing;
some people adjust better than others to their change
in circumstances, be it changes to their living
environment, loss of occupational status, or physical
changes such as decreased mobility, lack of
independent transport, and so on. Some individuals
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become more restless or agitated at the frustration of

their changed world whilst others may be more placid
or resigned and withdrawn (Thompson, 1997). Yet
others adapt to change and are realistic about
expectations and changes to their circumstances.
Social adaptation and sexual changes are very often
major causes of people's unhappiness. However, the
general expectation that older people will not be
sexually active (Schiavi & Rehman, 1995) is
unfounded since there is a great deal of variation in
both sexual interest and activity amongst all groups of
people, young or older. Availability of a capable
partner and acceptance of the level of a close
relationship seem to be important factors in
determining sexual activity or fondness. Exceptions
are often around in most groupings and some older
people never cease to amaze their younger relatives
with the energy and wisdom sometimes not found in
their younger peers!
Structural changes to the brain give rise to cognitive
changes (Daigneault & Braun, 1993; Golomb, et al.,
1996) that may be seen by others observing the
individual. In normal ageing, the brain undergoes
several structural changes including decreasing in size,
flattening of the surface, and increasing amounts of
intracrannial space (Aylward, et al., 1997; Deb, 1997;
Kesslak, et al., 1994; Prasher, et al., 1996). Other
microscopic and biochemical changes occur as well as
changes of the EEG (Holland, 2000).
Normal intellectual decline associated with old age
shows up most strikingly in four areas of intellectual
activity; these can be summarized as follows:
(i) The primary, or working memory capacity of intact
older people differs little from that of younger adults
(Burack & Lachman, 1996) except when the amount of
material to be remembered exceeds the normal
primary storage capacity of six or seven items, as in
tests of supraspan (Morris, 1996). Older people use
less effective learning procedures - less elaborative
encoding - and tend to show a greater differential
between recall and recognition of learned material,
particularly when the recognition tasks are easy (Fisk,
et al., 1997).
(ii) Diminished ability for abstract and complex
conceptualization typifies the intellectual functioning of
older people (Moss & Patel, 1992). The authors
suggest that the more meaningful and concrete the
presentation of a reasoning problem, the greater is the
likelihood that people will succeed at it.
(iii) Mental inflexibility, appearing as difficulty in
adapting to new situations, solving novel problems, or
changing mental set, characterizes intellectual
performance failures of older age (Moss & Patel, 1995;

Sattel, et al., 1993). Some authors have suggested
that apparent intellectual slowness in solving problems
may be due to serial versus parallel processing.
Evidence for slower serial processing was found in
tests of older people as compared with younger
participants (Ellis, Goldberg & Detweiler, 1996).
(iv) General behavioural slowing (Swearer & Kane,
1996) is a predominant characteristic of ageing that
affects perceptual (Earles & Salthouse, 1995),
cognitive (Sattel, et al., 1993), and memory functions
(Nyberg, et a., 1996) as well as all psychomotor
activity (Moss & Patel, 1992; Holland, 2000). Accurate
evaluation of an older person's poor performance on
any timed test must depend on careful observation
and analysis of the effect of time limits on the scores,
for the score alone will tell little about the effects of
slowing per se (Lezak, 1983).
Physical problems of ageing
Confusion is commonly misunderstood to be a part of
the dementing process. An acute confusional state is
a consequence of change in the body's metabolism
which leads to high temperature, fever and delirium,
which in turn can cause temporary disorientation,
memory loss, a state of 'muddled perplexity', poor
concentration, hallucinations, clouding of
consciousness and restlessness. (Goudie, 1993).
Unlike the situation where the person is suffering from
dementia, the disorientation and confusion will
improve if the underlying cause is treated. Regular
check-ups are therefore important in ensuring that
health problems and reactions to medication are dealt
with before they lead to anything serious. Misdiagnosis
can often occur in people who are over 65 years old
mainly because certain reactions seem to indicate
dementia at first glance. For example, acute
confusional state can be caused by any of: poor diet,
chest and urinary infections, heart disease, faecal
impaction, sensory deprivation (eg poor eyesight, poor
hearing, social isolation), grief reaction to
bereavement, and so on. Signs such as changes in
muscle tone, persistent language problems,
perceptual problems (Earles & Salthouse, 1995) and
personality changes may indicate other conditions
such as transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or a
cerebrovascular accident ('stroke') (Thompson &
Morgan, 1996). Haemorrhage in the blood vessels
leading to the brain or in the vessels of the brain itself
can result in a stroke. The cognitive changes
associated with a stroke can be confused with a
dementing process if the physical effects of the stroke
are disguised or are subtle. Indeed, some small
strokes do not cause devastating or obvious outward
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changes but many small strokes that cause death to

specific brain sites (multi-infarcts) often lead to
vascular dementia (Krishnan, Hays & Blazer, 1997;
OBrien, et al., 1998; Thompson & Morgan, 1996).
Lack of sleep can also effect a persons cognitive
functioning in that they are less able to concentrate
and attend to tasks. Pollak and colleagues (1993)
investigated sleep patterns in 29 elderly insomniacs.
According to sleep logs, insomniacs took longer to fall
asleep and stayed awake longer when they woke at
night. A circadian rhythm of motor activity was found in
both insomniacs and a control group with the former
group being more active during periods of bedrest,
which led to sleep deprivation and poor cognitive
functioning. This has been explained in terms of shifts
in the relative balances of aminergic and cholinergic
modulation occurring during waking and sleep (Sutton
& Hobson, 1998).
These findings are interesting when considering
Alzheimer disease patients who have disturbed
cholinergic modulation (Kaufer, 1998; Qizilbash, et al.,
1998). Similar studies of circadian rhythm analyses
conducted with Alzheimer disease patients have
shown restlessness during sleep (Ghali, 1996) and an
inability in some patients who have impaired
endogenous pacemaker function to synchronize the
rhythm of core-body temperature with the circadian
cycle of rest-activity (Satlin, et al., 1996). The control
of circadian rhythms is thought to be a function of the
suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus (Cohen
& Albers, 1991).
In a study of 16 patients diagnosed with dementia,
Van Someren and colleagues (1997) showed that
increasing illumination had stabilised the rest-activity
rhythm for those patients with intact vision. In a later
study of Alzheimer disease patients, Van Someren
and workers (1998a), proposed that irregular day-night
rhythm with behavioural restlessness during the night
may be attributable to an underlying dysfunctional
circadian timing system. Actigraphically obtained
rest-activity rhythm of 14 different Alzheimer disease
patients showed an improvement in its coupling of
Zeitgeber after transcutaneous electrical nerve
stimulation (TENS) treatment but not after placebo
treatment. In another study by Van Someren and
colleagues (1998b), fitness training was shown to be
helpful in elderly people suffering from sleep problems
as circadian rhythm disturbances were again
implicated. Swaab, et al. (1993) has hypothesised that
improvements in behaviour of Alzheimer disease
patients may be due to activation of the
suprachiasmatic nucleus by light, mediated through
the retina. Peripheral nerve stimulation in Alzheimer
disease patients has been thoroughly investigated and

discussed elsewhere (see Scherder, 1995).
Psychological problems of ageing
Depression is the most common emotional problem
affecting older adults (Goudie, 1993). Even when the
condition has been properly identified, many
individuals do not receive treatment with
antidepressants or are referred for specialist therapy,
such as cognitive therapy (Blackburn & Davidson,
1990). Many older people adapt well to the times (eg
changes in currency, government policies, and so on)
and are able to reflect on the past in order to apply
their experienced skills to the present day.
Identifying the signs of dementia and depression are
key to treatment. Whilst it is generally not too difficult
to list the signs of depression (APA, 1994, pp320-344,
for example: low mood, loss of interest, sleep
disturbance, weight loss, hopelessness, helplessness,
thoughts of death or suicide, preoccupation with
somatic complaints, agitation, loss of energy, feelings
of worthlessness and guilt, thinking and concentration
disturbances, forgetfulness), it is sometimes harder to
distinguish between an older person suffering from
depression alone, versus depression with dementia.
Depression has been found to be associated with
Alzheimers disease in many studies (eg McDowell,
2001). However, some key points to sufferers of
depression are also important in a diagnosis of
dementia: forgetfulness; thinking and concentration
disturbances; ability to maintain a task; lack of
concentration. Thompson (1997) compares typical
symptoms of depression with those of
Alzheimer's-type dementia (Illustration 1).
Anxiety is also common and often overlooked in older
people (Thompson, 1997). Typical symptoms
include: 'butterflies' in the stomach, sweating,
feelings of sickness, palpitations, and even diarrhoea.
Hyperventilation - breathing at a rate that is faster than
normal - and dizziness, tightening of the chest, head
and abdominal pains, can be the result of an acute
anxiety panic attack. Some sufferers of anxiety find
that their arousal level is such that no one particular
event or stimulus triggers their panic attack. This is
termed 'free-floating anxiety' and can be difficult to
treat but is claimed to be helped by practising
relaxation regularly and exploring different ways of
interpreting threatening or uncomfortable stimuli
(Thompson, 1989). Anxiolytic drugs can also take the
edge off severe anxiety and can help the sufferer
explore new ways of coping.
There are of course several other conditions that might
be confused with a diagnosis of dementia in older
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people. Some of these include paraphrenia, often

psychosis related to alcohol problems (such as
Korsakoff's), and Parkinson's disease (Goudie, 1993).
Sometimes, the dementia-like symptoms are defined
as 'schizophrenia of late life'. Thompson (1997) clearly
illustrates the similarities and differences to
dementia of several of the most common problems
(Illustration 2).
Problems with memory
Memory failure is a common and significant problem in
dementia (Greene, Hodges & Baddeley, 1995), hence
it is important to first assess the extent to which it is a
problem and for whom the problem is an obstacle.
people choose to remember only certain details of an

event (Eich, 1984). People experiencing traumatic
events sometimes repress distressing memories. The
process used here is blocking the retrieval of
information rather than preventing information from
being memorized in the first place (Terr, 1994). Boring
or over-complicated information is also selectively
ignored and not retained. It is a constant battle,
therefore, for therapists and clinicians to seek out
stimulating information while still achieving an
objective assessment of a patient's memory
functioning.
Definition of dementia
It is now believed that there are four stages involved in

memory: registration, encoding, storage and retrieval.
For information to be stored in memory it must first be
attended to or registered. Encoding is the process
whereby this information may be semantically
encoded or phonologically encoded (Baddeley, 1978;
1992), ie encoded in terms of meaning or sound,
respectively. Storage is the process by which
information is maintained in memory. It is widely
accepted that different types of knowledge appear to
be stored differently, so that, for example, knowing
what a person ate for lunch (episodic memory)
would be stored differently from knowing the word
'lunch' means a mid-day meal (semantic memory).
Cohen and Squire (1981) have subsumed these terms
under 'declarative memory' and reserve a further
definition, termed 'procedural memory' for skills and
routines including some types of sensory memory (eg
knowing how to ride a motorbike is a procedural
memory, knowing how the engine works is
declarative). These functional definitions of memory
have practical applications for therapists and are also
more simplistic than earlier definitions.
The definition of dementia generally accepted by

clinical psychologists and psychiatrists is that outlined
in DSM-IV (APA, 1994). In summary, it states that for
a diagnosis of dementia, there should be
demonstrable evidence of impairment in short-term
and long-term memory. Impairment in short-term
memory (ie inability to learn new information) may be
indicated by an inability to remember three objects
after five minutes. Long-term memory impairment (ie
inability to remember information that was known in
the past) may be indicated by an inability to remember
past personal information (eg what happened
yesterday; birthplace; occupation) or facts of common
knowledge (eg past Prime Ministers; well known
dates). The salient points of the full-length definition
(all of which do not necessarily have to be present for
a diagnosis of dementia) are:
Retrieval is the process by which information is made

available from memory and is thought to be dependent
upon a number of factors, such as the closeness in
which conditions are matched at encoding and
retrieval, and the strategy used for retrieving
memorized information (Thompson, 2001b).
5. Personality change;
It is important for clinicians and therapists to

understand the mechanisms involved in memory
functioning in order to be able to recognise and treat
deficits when presenting as a consequence of
dementia. Having an appreciation of the memory
impairments has shown that people's intact memory is
not always as comprehensive as one might imagine
(Thompson, 1996); indeed, people's memory
functioning can be very selective (Thompson, 1995).
Selective memory is difficult to explain but generally
1. Impairment of short-term and long-term memory;

2. Impairment of abstract thinking;
3. Impaired judgement;
4. Disturbances of higher cortical function (eg aphasia;
apraxia; agnosia; constructional difficulty);
6. Specific organic factor;

7. Absence of a non-organic factor as a reason for the
symptoms (eg major depression).
Dementia is commonly misunderstood to be a disease
when in fact it is a syndrome, ie the result of a number
of symptoms, and in a few instances it may be
reversible. Stokes and Holden (1993) have described
'primary dementia' as an extensive, organic
impairment of intellect, memory and personality. It
occurs in the absence of clouding of consciousness
(without drowsiness) which is acquired, irreversible
and progressive.
Among people aged over 65 years old, the prevalence
(ie the percentage of people afflicted at a given time)
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of moderate to severe dementia has been estimated at

between 1.3 and 6.2 per cent (Stokes & Holden,
1993). The increased life expectancy of women,
coupled with the greater prevalence of dementia in the
ninth decade of life may mean that more women than
men suffer from Alzheimers disease (Ruitenberg,
Kalmijn & de Ridder (2001). However, after 90 years
of age the incidence of Alzheimers disease is higher
for women than for men, but vascular dementia is
higher for men than for women in all age groups
(Ruitenberg, Ott & van Swieten 2001).
It has been common to distinguish 'presenile'
dementia from 'senile' dementia both by age of onset
and also by type of illness. Lishman (1987) in his text
on Organic Psychiatry describes two types of
dementia: arteriosclerotic (which may also occur as a
presenile disease) and parenchymatous senile
dementia. The latter, which refers to a dementing
process in the 'parenchyma' or 'functional part' of the
brain, is by far the commonest form of dementia and is
generally characterized by those deficits found in
Alzheimer's disease (Miller & Morris, 1993). Vascular
dementia (Chui, et al., 1992; Paul, et al., 2001; Rhodin
& Thomas, 2001; Romn, et al., 1993; Skoog, Kalaria
& Breteler, 1999) is less common and, in the absence
of Alzheimers disease neuropathology, refers to the
presence of small localized areas of dead tissue in the
brain produced as a result of an inadequate blood
supply.
Over the years, there have been several different
definitions of 'dementia' and these have varied often
according to the viewpoint of the person proposing the
definition; for example, from a neuroanatomist's
structural viewpoint or from a neuropsychologist's
functional viewpoint. Definitions have changed also
with the advent of improved technologies such as
Computerised Tomography (CT) scanning and
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Dementias
resulting from a stroke, for example, are generally
considered to be vascular dementia (Skoog, Kalaria &
Breteler, 1999), or according to the structural defect,
as in 'lacunar stroke'.
Discussion
Alzheimer's disease is named after a German
physician, Alois Alzheimer, who first reported the
disease in 1907. It is the single most common form of
dementia, accounting for between 1% and 4% of the
population per year, rising by half decade from its
lowest level at ages 65 to 70 years to rates that
approach 4% over the age of 85 years (DeKosky,
2001). Initially, the neuropathology of Alzheimer's
disease was thought to be arteriosclerotic; however,

this was revised after researchers such as Corsellis
and Evans (1965) and Tomlinson, Blessed and Roth
(1970) consistently reported no arteriosclerosis in
people with a late onset Alzheimers disease.
Neuropathology and clinical signs of Alzheimer's
disease
The clinical diagnosis of Alzheimers disease is said to
be correct 75% to 90% of the time (Morris, 1999).
According to Dickson (2001), accuracy is highest for
neurologists specialising in memory disorders and
lowest for general practitioners, who have a tendency
to overdiagnose Alzheimers disease. The clinical
accuracy also tends to be lower for older patients who
often have mixed pathology rather than a single cause
of dementia (Mendez, Mastin & Sung, 1992). The only
clinical means of establishing a definite diagnosis is by
microscopic examination of brain tissue as there are
no laboratory tests and neither sophisticated imaging
techniques nor detailed neuopsychological evaluation
can specify Alzheimers disease categorically (Dickson,
1999).
Typically, the onset is from 40 years of age onwards
with insidious degeneration until death at about six
years following onset (Lishman, 1987; Jorm, 1990;
Burns & Levy, 1994). The brain invariably displays a
degree of atrophy; however, age-associated atrophy
and the normal variability in brain size preclude a
diagnosis based solely on gross examination of the
brain (Dickson, 2001). Atrophy of the medial portion of
the temporal lobe is often disproportionate to other
areas of the cortex. In most cases, the primary
sensory and motor cortices are relatively spared and
on sectioning the brain, the lateral ventricles are
usually dilated and the hippocampus and amygdala
are atrophic (Dickson, 2001). More specific neuronal
alterations accompany neuronal and synaptic loss.
The most important of these alterations is paired
helical filaments which are intraneuronal
proteinaceous structures that are composed by an
abnormal form of tau protein (see Cooper, et al., 1995;
Dickson, 1997; 1998; 2001; Dickson, Crystal &
Bevona, 1995).
The neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimers
disease is the intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of tau
protein and amyloid plaques, primarily composed of
aggregated amyloid beta peptide. At high
concentrations vesicular amyloid beta aggregates to
form high molecular weight species which are capable
of seeding amyloid fibril growth. Hu and colleagues
(2010) suggest that it is these aggregates that seed
the extracellular amyloid plaque formation seen in the
pathogenesis of Alzheimers disease.
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Studies of individuals in the general population with

Alzheimer's disease, verified by neuropathology, have
shown the clinical manifestations to follow three
stages (Schneck, Reisberg & Ferris, 1982). The first
involves a subjective opinion of forgetfulness which
may be accompanied by anxiety (Mohanaruban,
Sastry & Finucane, 1989). The second is
characterized by severe memory loss for recent
events (Reisberg, 1983) with an impaired delayed
recall being more pronounced than for immediate
recall (Baddeley, et al., 1991). Poor concentration,
impaired orientation and minimal dysphasia are also
usually evidenced (Rau, 1993), with vocabulary and
memory for past events remaining largely unaffected.
The final stage is marked by severe disorientation and
cognitive abulia, ie absence or impairment of
'willpower' (Oliver, 1999; Oliver & Holland, 1986).
Anxiety and other affective disorders are declining in
the final stage (Reisberg, 1983).
Baylis, 1997).
There are also the effects of the residential setting on

the elderly person (see Collacott, 1992). The level
of staff support may vary according to the individual
needs of the person. These factors become more
important during planning decisions and in the
provision of specialist care for individuals with a
learning disability who are dementing. Each person
with Alzheimer's disease will vary slightly in
presentation according to personality. Emotional,
behavioural and cognitive changes will also vary, but
generally accepted by clinicians and researchers is a
stage model which describes broad characteristics
(Reisberg, 1983).
The third phase, the 'dementia phase', is characterized

by a lack of purpose in the person's behaviour which
appears disjointed and sometimes bizarre. Remaining
intellectual and self-care abilities require constant
supervision as people in this phase undergo further
deterioration in memory capacity, calculating ability
(dyscalculia) and aspects of language are severely
affected and eventually lost. Constant assistance is
required for self-care skills such as grooming, dressing,
toileting and for feeding. A progressive physical
wasting can also be seen which will mean help with
walking. Sometimes one or two years of life will follow
in an almost vegetative state until death.
In the first phase, the 'forgetfulness phase', there is

usually difficulty in recalling recent events, and a
tendency to forget where objects have been placed
(Greene, Hodges & Baddeley, 1995). Names of
people and places, previously familiar, may be poorly
recalled and a general disorientation persists and poor
short-term memory (Goldblum, et al., 1998). Abstract
thinking, inability to concentrate on tasks and a
marked lack of curiosity are also typical presentations
and there may also be emotional changes such as
anxiety and irritability and the 'new' or unexpected will
be feared or disliked (Goudie, 1993; Thompson,
1997). Denial is also sometimes seen in presentation
of people with Alzheimer's disease (Thompson, 1997).
Environmental factors may have a role in triggering

Alzheimer's disease in susceptible individuals. An
association between Alzheimer's disease and
aluminium has been formulated for several years (eg
McDowell, 2001). However, there is more compelling
contradictory evidence (eg Flaten, 2001). There have
also been studies in the past purporting the implication
of cholinergic neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine
(Curran & Wattis, 1989). These studies were
unconvincing until the late 1990s with the discovery of
neurotransmitter pathways implicated in Alzheimers
disease and the subsequent trialling of the
acetylcholine esterase inhibitors (ACIs).
Some researchers warn of the importance of

accounting for attentional components in studies
examining memory in Alzheimers disease; this is
because memory and attention are interrelated
cognitive processes that are most likely to influence
the functioning of each other and yet they are difficult
to distinguish in psychological experiments (Simone &
These drugs are now the main treatment of choice in

early onset Alzheimers disease and include Aricept or
Donepezil Hydrochloride, E2020 (Kakinuma, et al.,
2010); Exelon or Rivastigmine Tartrate which is no
longer prescribed widely in the UK because of lack of
good efficacy results (Winblad, et al., 2007; Kumar, et
The second recognised phase is known as the

'confusional phase'. Increasingly poor attention span
and a decline in generalised intellectual performance
is seen with a deteriorating memory. Disorientation in
place, word-finding difficulty and other changes to
speech may be seen (Goldblum, et al., 1998).
Complex tasks are performed with difficulty,
sometimes in a clumsy or inaccurate manner and
often the skills the person learned last will be lost first.
Hence the skills necessary for social independence
and vocational skills are usually the first skills to be
reduced or lost completely. Together with failing
memory comes the concealment of these deficits by
rationalising or confabulating events (ie providing an
imaginary account of events or actions). Lack of
interest in news and surroundings follows relatively
quickly and can be extremely distressing to family and
friends (Thompson, 1997).
Acetylcholine esterase inhibitors (ACI)
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al., 2008); Reminyl or Galantamide Hydrobromide

(renamed Razadyne on 1st July 2005 because of the
confusion with the diabetes drug Amaryl,
manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis (Burns, et al., 2008);
and Ebixa or Memantine (Robinson & Keating, 2006)
which acts on the glutaminergic (rather than the
cholinergic) receptor sites.
Since the late 1990s, there have been three
prescribed anti-dementia drugs available to people
with memory problems and suspected dementia.
These were rolled out clinically, firstly for people with
Alzheimers disease though they were not widely
available throughout the United Kingdom due to costs
and budgets held within individual Primary Care NHS
Trusts (PCTs) at that time. These drugs act on specific
cholinergic receptor sites in the brain (the nicogenic
and the muscarinic receptors) known to be associated
with acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter linked to
memory functioning.
The first medication to become more widely available
was Aricept (Donepezil Hydrochloride, E2020)
manufactured by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. This had few
side-effects except for reported cases of nausea,
although some reports showed Aricept-induced
nightmares . It was given in a single tablet dose. The
second medication was Reminyl (Galantamine
Hydrobromide) manufactured by Jansen-Cilag
Pharmaceuticals which was given in two doses (one
dose, twice a day) and initially had fewer reported
side-effects and evidence that it abated some of the
behaviour disturbances sometimes seen with
Alzheimers disease, such as agitation. However, early
on, there were reports that it should be avoided in
cases of cardiac arrhythmias and heart disease.
Towards the late 2000, increasingly there were reports
that this medication is contra-indicated in the presence
of heart problems and also the twice-daily dose is
sometimes forgotten when it is self-prescribed by the
patient or carer.
Exelon (Rivastigmine Tartrate) manufactured by
Novartis Pharmaceuticals was found early on to have
more side-effects than either of the other two choices
of medication and is no longer prescribed widely. A
newer medication, Ebixa (Memantine) manufactured
by Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals acts on the
glutaminergic receptor site in the brain and has been
found to have fewer side-effects than all of the other
drugs so far. Early clinical trials have shown that it
may also have positive effects on cognitive functioning.
There remains insufficient data to conclude the
benefits of any of these drugs in the treatment of
vascular dementia; and to date, there is no data on the
treatment of either Alzheimers disease or vascular
dementia using any of these drugs for people with

Downs syndrome and dementia.
Clearly, there is scope for more focused research,
particularly in the area of learning disabilities and
dementia.
Heredity
Heredity appears to be of some importance to the risk
of suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The
identification of gene mutations and polymorphisms
that either cause Alzheimers disease or significantly
increase the risk for developing it have enabled the
creation of realistic rodent models of the disease
(Chapman, Falinska & Knevett, 2001). However, whilst
animals expressing mutated human amyloid precursor
protein and presenilin-1 show dramatic parallels to
Alzheimers disease, as yet, none of the models
appear to capture the full range of pathologies that
characterise the human disease (Chapman, et al.,
2001).
The idea that genes can influence behavioural
predispositions is becoming increasingly tractable (eg
Isles & Wilkinson, 2000). In imprinted genes one allele
is silenced according to its parental origin resulting in
the inheritance of traits down the maternal or paternal
line, in contrast to the more frequent mode of
inheritance to the parental origin of the allele (Isles &
Wilkinson, 2000). Hence, it has been suggested that
genes may play an important determinant of
behavioural outcome which might impact on such
diseases as Alzheimers disease.
As sporadic Alzheimers disease is on the increase
(Engelborghs & De Deyn, 2001) with growing
demands on our medical services (DeKosky, 2001),
there is a increasing need for early diagnosis.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of protein tau have
been shown to be significantly increased in patients
with Alzheimers disease (Andreasen, et al., 1998;
Andreasen, et al., 1999; Hulstaert, Blennow &
Schoonderwaldt, 1999). In recent years, it has become
apparent that the beta-amyloid component of senile
plaques may be the key molecule in the pathology of
Alzheimers disease (Bayer, Wirths & Majtnyl, 2001).
Also, evidence has shown that the allele e4 of
apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a genetic risk factor for
Alzheimers disease underlining the possible role of
ApoE in the physiopathology of Alzheimers disease
(Hofman, et al., 1997; Mahley & Rall, 2000; Merched,
Blain & Visvikis, 1997).
By measuring CSF ApoE level, findings show that an
increased level corresponds with an increase of
mRNA ApoE in the brains of Alzheimers disease
patients (Merched, et al., 1997; Nemes, et al., 2001).
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Hence, Merched and colleagues (1997) concludes that

CSF ApoE level seems to be a reflection of neuronal
damage and/or an inflammatory reaction that may be
common to Alzheimers disease and other
neurological and related diseases.
It would seem, therefore, that close relatives of a
sufferer do have a greater risk of developing
Alzheimer's disease (Myers & Goate, 2001). However,
only a small per centage is due to gene mutations and
apolipoprotein E4 is responsible for some 17 % of
these cases (Fullerton, Clark & Weiss, 2000;
Saunders, 2000; Wang, Kwon & Shah, 2000). The risk
to relatives seems to vary depending on the age at
which the disease began; and there is a decrease in
risk with late age onset (Stokes & Holden, 1993).
Other risk factors, associated with Alzheimers disease,
have also been reported, for example, diabetes
mellitus (Luchsinger, Tang & Sung, 2001). However,
further prognostic studies are needed (eg Ruitenberg,
Ott & van Swieten (2001) and some would even
advocate the use of routine screening of risk factors
because of the increase in prevalence of Alzheimers
disease (Milne, 2010).
Neuropsychology of Alzheimer's disease
In normal functioning, several types of information may
be processed at once, possibly from a variety of
sources. An example of this might be holding a
conversation or driving a car. These types of activities
break down relatively rapidly in patients with dementia,
even at the early stages. Alberoni, et al. (1992)
reported that Alzheimer-type patients are particularly
handicapped in keeping track of conversations
involving several people. They also often have
problems in remembering who said 'what' and 'when'
(Thompson, 1997). Yet some studies have shown the
preservation of certain skills such as the ability to
recognise music (Wall, 2010) or even maintain past
learned skills as a pianist (Beatty, et al., 1999).
Selective attention
A specific component of executive processes
(Baddeley, 1998), is selective attention (Morris, 1996).
This has been most extensively investigated in relation
to attentional shifts in spatial tasks (Simone & Baylis,
1997). Some researchers have distinguished between
the three components that underlie attentional shifting,
namely, engaging or focusing, shifting, and
disengagement of attention (Morris, 1996).
In the auditory domain, deficits in selective attention
may be measured by the dichotic listening task (Mohr,
et al., 1990). Visual selective attention deficits may be
evaluated by using visual display units to present
stimuli via a screen (Filoteo, et al., 1992). There is
substantial evidence that shifting of attention is

controlled, in part, by the posterior parietal region of
the brain (LaBerge, 1990). Because of the substantial
functional impairment in the posterior parietal cortex in
Alzheimers disease, a specific attentional deficit
would be predicted and indeed, has been found to be
the case (Parasuraman, et al., 1992).
However, more recently, researchers have found that
whilst patients with Alzheimers disease have
deterioration in both memory and attention, the
progression of Alzheimers disease is more closely
related to deterioration of spatial memory (Simone &
Baylis, 1997). The authors suggest that memory and
attention are interrelated cognitive processes but are
often difficult to distinguish in patient participant
experiments.
Sustained attention
In the early stages of Alzheimers disease, the patient
is essentially alert and able to take in information to a
certain level of efficiency. At a clinical level, alertness
readily translates into the cognitive concept of
vigilance, the ability to detect a stimulus and respond
readily (Morris, 1996). This is typically assessed using
tasks in which a target occurs infrequently and
unpredictably and has to be discriminated from other
unpredictable items (Parasuraman & Giambra, 1991).
Interestingly, Alzheimer disease patients were found
to be no worse than controls on a tone discrimination
task (Lines, et al., 1991), but if the task complexity is
increased, their vigilance becomes worse (Berardi, et
al., 1992). However, as a discrimination between
non-Alzheimers disease patients, such tasks do not
appear to be of particular help clinically (Morris, 1996).
Clare, Whitaker and Nelis (2010) compared memory
evaluations in healthy older people and people with
Alzheimers disease. Significant overestimation was
found to be a frequent feature among people with
dementia, with approximately two-thirds showing this
pattern; although the authors also state that significant
under-estimation is also reliably observed in a small
proportion of people with dementia.
Working Memory Model
Information processing, attention and memory are
successfully characterised by the Working Memory
Model developed by Alan Baddeley and colleagues
(Baddeley, 1986; 1992; 1996; Baddeley & Hitch,
1974). The model proposes a Central Executive
System (CES) which functions to co-ordinate and
schedule mental operations including the processing
and immediate storage of information. This
incorporates the notion of a 'scratch pad' system which
holds and manipulates information simultaneously.
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The CES has limited resources, hence the decline in

performance associated with trying to combine two
attentionally demanding mental operations. A cluster
of peripheral systems support the functioning of the
CES. This includes a specialised Articulatory Loop
System (ALS), responsible for recycling verbally
encodable information, such as when a person tries to
keep in mind a telephone number for a short period or
understand a grammatically complicated sentence.
In the visuospatial domain, there is the visuospatial
scratchpad (VSSP) which maintains visuospatial
imagery. These components of the model are
interacting continuously with the CES devoting varying
degrees of processing resources to each component
depending on the task (Illustration 3). This is not the
only model explaining sequencing and executive
phenomena (eg Shallice, 1988; Furster, 1993), but it
has provided a useful framework for studying cognitive
impairment in dementia which has in part been
characterised as a dysexecutive syndrome (Morris,
1986; Baddeley, et al., 1986; Becker, 1988).
The peripheral systems of the Working Memory Model
(Baddeley, 1992; 1998) are co-ordinated by the CES.
The most extensively studied is the ALS which
recycles verbal material in a relatively automatic
fashion. For example, when remembering a string of
digits, as in the digit span test of the Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale Revised (Wechsler, 1981), the
material is cycled continuously through the ALS to
keep it in memory. A series of studies indicate that this
system is unimpaired in Alzheimer's disease (Morris,
1984; 1987a,b; 1992). The evidence comes from
experiments where patients are required to recall short
lists of digits or words but the functioning of the ALS is
suppressed by requiring them to mouth an irrelevant
word (such as the word 'the'), effectively blocking
articulatory rehearsal. 'Articulatory suppression' of this
sort was found to have quantitatively the same effect
on digits or words recall in Alzheimer's disease
patients as in normal subjects. Thus, the equivalent
loss of function without articulatory rehearsal shows
the potency of the system to recycle verbal material is
undiminished in Alzheimer's disease (Morris, 1992).
The visual counterpart of the ALS is the visuospatial
sketchpad which functions to retain visuospatial
memory in immediate memory (Baddeley, 1992;
1998). For example, if a person's attention is diverted
momentarily from a visual scene, they will still maintain
the memory of that scene for a short period. This
ability helps the person maintain a sense of visual
continuity when, for example, moving around the
room.
Although this ability has not been investigated
extensively, there is evidence for significant

impairment in visuospatial memory in Alzheimer's
disease (Morris, 1994a). Firstly, patients with
Alzheimer's disease have difficulty in a visual
analogue of verbal span - the patient observes
the experimenter tapping out a sequence on an
array of nine blocks (or printed coloured squares as in
the Wechsler Memory Scale Revised - Wechsler, 1988)
in front of them and then has to immediately repeat the
sequence of taps from memory. This block span
performance has been found to be impaired
consistently (Spinnler, et al, 1988).
Secondly, there is a measure known as the 'delayed
matching to sample task' where an item is shown to
the patient followed by a short delay followed by the
same item with another or several others. The patient
is required to pick out the item seen before. By varying
the delay it is possible to see how fast memory for the
item decays. Sahakian, et al. (1988) used a version in
which a pattern was shown on a computer screen and
the patient had to identify the pattern from four others.
Early Alzheimer's disease patients were found to
show more rapid forgetting than normal older controls.
A later study by Money, et al. (1992) found a similar
impairment using filled circles of different sizes, but
Alzheimer's disease patients were impaired when
there was no delay between presentation and choice
and showed the same rate of forgetting as the controls.
Both studies, therefore, showed a substantial
impairment in the performances of Alzheimer's
disease patients.
Baddeley, et al. (1991) favours a localisationalist view;
impairment in Alzheimer-type patients may be
explained in terms of the dysexecutive syndrome and
frontal lobe dysfunction. This links the notion of the
CES to the Norman and Shallice (1986) model of
attentional control which assumes that most ongoing
actions are controlled by establishing routines. The
routines or 'schemas' are mutually inhibitory and can
be triggered by environmental events. Where they are
insufficient to generate appropriate activity, a
higher-level system, the Supervisory Attentional
System (SAS) comes into play which is involved in
coping with novel circumstances or problem-solving
activity (Morris, 1994b).
Shallice (1988) relates an impairment in the SAS to
the difficulties patients with frontal lobe damage have
in problem-solving. The conceptual link between the
CES and the SAS has been introduced by Baddeley,
et al. (1991), who suggests that an SAS impairment
also results in the reduced capacity to direct and
control attentional resources. Thus an impairment in
the SAS may be closely analogous to the
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dysexecutive syndrome seen in Alzheimer's disease.

Indeed, Alzheimer's disease patients do have damage
to their frontal lobes (Morris, 1994b).
Neuropsychology of vascular dementia
Vascular dementia is a fluctuating and remitting
vascular type dementia which is characterized by an
abrupt onset (Stokes & Holden, 1993; Markesberry,
1998; Skoog, Kalaria & Breteler, 1999). The diagnosis
demands neuropathology not showing Alzheimers
disease changes and is defined in DSM-IV as follows:
A. The development of multiple cognitive deficits
manifested by both
(1) memory impairment (impaired ability to learn new
information or to recall previously learned information)
(2)
one (or more) of the following cognitive
disturbances:
(a) aphasia (language disturbance)
(b) apraxia (impaired ability to carry out motor
activities despite intact motor function)
(c) agnosia (failure to recognize or identify objects
despite intact sensory function)
(d) disturbance in executive functioning (ie planning,
organizing, sequencing, abstracting).
1. The cognitive deficits in Criteria A1 and A2 each
cause significant impairment in social or occupational
functioning and represent a significant decline from a
previous level of functioning.
2. Focal neurological signs and symptoms (eg
exaggeration of deep tendon reflexes, extensor plantar
response, pseudobulbar palsy, gait abnormalities,
weakness of an extremity) or laboratory evidence
indicative of cerebrovascular disease (eg multiple
infarctions involving cortex and underlying white
matter) that are judged to be etiologically related to the
disturbance.
D. The deficits do not occur exclusively during the
course of a delirium. (p 146).
Vascular dementia is the second most common form
of dementia, after Alzheimer's disease (Skoo, Kalaria
& Breteler, 1999). The aetiology, or cause of this type
of dementia is a series of small strokes which may
vary between individuals in frequency, intensity and
also in location in the brain (de Groot, et al., 2000a,b;
Thompson & Morgan, 1996). Loss of specific cognitive
functioning, (eg immediate memory functioning deficits,
loss of visuospatial ability, attention and concentration
deficits), minor neurological signs (such as weakness
in the muscles on one side of the body, or slurring of
speech) and sometimes periods of confusion may
occur (Thompson, 1999a). Physical disability is usually
not severe unlike that following a severe stroke.

Following the infarct, there is usually limited
improvement until the next episode which can take
place after a few weeks, months or even up to a year
later (Thompson, 1999a).
The deterioration in cognitive functioning and mild
disability is usually a step-wise process, as compared
with Alzheimer's disease which is often an insidious
gradual deterioration in functioning (Thompson,
1999a). However, recent studies have indicated that
there may be a vascular connection with Alzheimers
disease (OBrien, et al., 1996; Rhodin & Thomas, 2001)
in that cerebral vascular changes in patients with
Alzheimers disease probably precede the neuronal
damage and dementia. Many people suffering from
vascular dementia do not reach the end stage and die
from a major stroke. However, early recognition and
treatment of the underlying disease, such as
hypertension, arteriosclerosis, or cardiac disease may
inhibit further deterioration (Thompson, 1999a;
Thompson & Morgan, 1996).
Researchers have attempted to devise methods for
discriminating between Alzheimers disease and
vascular dementia such as CSF investigation (eg
Nemes, et al., 2001). However, determination of NE
(gamma-glutamyl) lysine concentration in CSF have
so far not provided the discrimination available at
post-mortem (Nemes, et al., 2001). The clinical
diagnosis of vascular dementia is similar to that of
Alzheimer's disease; indeed, they share the common
risk factor, apolipoprotein E4 (Dickson, 2001).
In terms of cognitive functioning, patients diagnosed
with subcortical ischaemic vascular dementia tested
on recognition memory and verbal fluency performed
better than Alzheimers disease patients on the
recognition memory tests (Tierney, Black & Szalai,
2001). Criteria for the diagnosis for ischaemic vascular
dementia (IVD) has been made more rigorous by
some groups of researchers (eg Chui, et al., 1992;
Romn, et al., 1993). Chui and colleagues (1992), for
example, have drawn up a new set of criteria that
describe probable IVD, possible IVD, definite IVD,
or mixed dementia (see Chui, et al., 1992). Romn
and colleagues (1993), on the other hand, suggest
that better interobserver agreement in the diagnosis of
dementia was achieved from using the World Health
Organisation International Classification of Diseases
(ICD-10NA) (WHO, 1991). Diagnosis of dementia
requires the presence of a decline in memory and
intellectual abilities that causes impaired functioning in
daily living (Romn, et al., 1993).
Impaired functioning in daily living was accepted as a
criterion for epidemiologic studies of vascular
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dementia because it would ensure that the changes

are more than incidental and would increase specificity
(Romn, et al., 1993). Chui and colleagues (1992)
also included interference with the conduct of the
patients customary affairs of life as a requirement for
the diagnosis of ischaemic vascular dementia. The
impairment should be due to cognitive deficits and not
to physical handicaps produced by stroke.
For the diagnosis of vascular dementia, Romn and
colleagues (1993) have suggested that cognitive
decline should be demonstrated by loss of memory
and deficits in at least two other domains, including
orientation, attention, language-verbal skills,
visuospatial abilities, calculations, executive functions,
motor control, abstraction, and judgement. For
diagnosis, memory deficits may not be as severe as in
Alzheimers disease, but single or isolated defects in
cognition such as amnesic states, aphasias, and
apraxias, do not meet the requirements. Therefore,
although single cognitive deficits do not qualify single
lesions may produce vascular dementia when causing
alteration of memory and at least two other cognitive
functions of sufficient severity to cause impairment in
daily living. (Romn, et al., 1993, p 253).
Using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)
(Folstein, Folstein & McHugh, 1975), Tatemichi,
Desmond and Paitz (1991) have found 84% sensitivity,
76% specificity, a false-positive rate of 46%, and a
false-negative rate of 6%, supporting the use of the
MMSE for screening dementia stroke patients when
adjustments are made to account for false positives.
Other tests that could be useful for vascular dementia
include the four-word memory test with 10-minute
delayed recall, the cube-drawing test for copy, a verbal
fluency test, Lurias alternating hand sequence or
finger rings, the letter cancellation test for neglect, the
reaction-time test, and the grooved pegboard test
(Cummings, 1992; Grafman, 1991). The Mattis
Dementia Rating Scale (Paul, et al., 2001) has also
been recognised as serving as a useful diagnostic tool
in this respect.
To be considered as evidence in favour of vascular
dementia, the radiological findings should fulfil
minimum standards for both severity and topography
(Romn, et al., 1993). In contrast, the California
criteria (Chui, et al., 1992), require two or more
ischaemic strokes with at least one infarct outside the
cerebellum. Criteria from the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders (NINDS) with support from the
Association Internationale pour la Recherche et
lEnseignement en Neurosciences (AIREN) (Romn,
et al., 1993), recognise that a single lesion may cause
vascular dementia and accept radiological lesions
regardless of location as evidence of cerebrovascular

disease. This picture is further complicated when
considering a differential diagnosis (Dickson, 2001;
Krishnan & McDonald, 1995; Rao, 1998).
Differential diagnosis
Sometimes the clinical picture resembles organic
dementia yet there may be little or no indication of an
organic cause. These types of disorders are termed
'pseudodementia' (Lishman, 1987). Often the
distinction between organic dementia and
pseudodementia is difficult to determine; as Lishman
(1987) warns: '... in the early stages of organic brain
disease a patient may occasionally react in such a
way that his dementia is suspected of being more
apparent than real - in other words a pseudodementia
may turn out in fact to be a 'pseudo-pseudodementia'.
' (p 404). Only depression will be discussed here as it
is the most salient factor in distinguishing between
dementia.
In depressive pseudodementia, the patient most
commonly becomes slow to grasp essential aspects of
the environment or about daily routines. Thinking is
laboured and behaviour becomes inefficient because
of difficulty in concentrating or because of inner
preoccupations. Kemper and colleagues (1993) found
that the greatest discriminant function between
moderate Alzheimers disease patients and those with
pseudodementia was the simplest (versus more
complex) of naming tasks, such as the WAB
Responsive Speech task. Kemper and colleagues
(1993) conclude that it is the Alzheimers disease
patient who does not know definitely how many days
are in a week or other overlearned material.
The onset of endogenous depression is typically acute
and recent, whereas that of dementia is insidious
(Lishman, 1987). A careful history in depressive
pseudodementia is therefore indicated and may well
reveal that such capacities as memory have not been
affected up to the time of presentation of 'dementia'.
Patients with depression will often complain of their
cognitive abilities in a way that is quite different to
those with dementia. Usually these complaints are
categorically stated and sometimes forcefully so.
Lishman (1987) comments that there is often a
tendency for depressed patients to counter questions
by 'Don't know' responses rather than attempts to
confabulate or make facile excuses for failure which is
frequently observed in the patient who is organically
confused.
Several studies have warned of the difficulties of
diagnosis especially in the early stages of dementia,
as subtle personality changes are easily overlooked
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(Rossor, 1999). However, some distinctions can be

made between the presenting clinical features of
common conditions; for example, the onset of 'acute
confusion' is usually sudden and of short duration;
'dementia' (chronic confusion) has a slow and steadily
progressive onset, whilst depressive pseudodementia
may take place over a number of discrete episodes
(Goudie, 1993). Sufferers of depression seem
generally to have insight into their condition, often
complaining of an impaired memory; sufferers of
dementia and acute confusion, on the other hand,
seem not to have any insight into the problem
(Mohanaruban, Sastry & Finucane, 1989). Other forms
of pseudo-dementia include hypomania which can
occasionally produce a picture which is mistaken for
dementia. Pseudodementias are basically conditions
in which a clinical picture resembles organic dementia
yet physical disease proves to be little if at all
responsible for the presenting symptoms
(Mohanaruban, Sastry & Finucane, 1989).
Testimony of the difficulties encountered in the
differential diagnosis of depressive pseudodementia
are apparent (Benedict & Nacoste, 1990). Reviews of
follow-up diagnostic studies cite evidence of dementia
being misdiagnosed as depression (Rossor, 1999).
However, different opinions have been put forward
concerning the nature of the depression observed in
cases of Alzheimer-type dementia. Clinicians have
conventionally viewed depression as a reactive
phenomenon more likely to occur during the early
stages of the dementia when a modicum of insight
remains (Rossor, 1999). A similar explanation has
been offered for the depression that accompanies
vascular dementia (Rao, 1998; Romn, 1999).
DSM-IV (APA, 1994) recognises the frequent
coexistence of depression.
Hurley and colleagues (2007) have attempted to
identify the experiences of people with dementia who
have poor or no communication. The authors
developed a rating scale used by nursing staff to
assess discomfort across nine quantifiable items.
However, the pilot test has not been thoroughly
investigated despite promising results indicating
content validity. More reliable methods of assessing
symptoms have included neuropsychological test
batteries and the use of photon emission tomography
(PET) scanning (Dubois, et al., 2007; Nordberg, et al.,
2010).
Learning disability and dementia
Two per cent of the UK population (over one million
people) have learning disabilities, the majority of them
mild. In 1991, 4500 babies were born with severe
learning disabilities (6 in 1000 live births); more people
with learning disabilities are male (54 per cent) than

female (46 per cent) (Mental Health Foundation,
1993).
'Learning disability' (or formerly, 'mental handicap') is a
very broad term and has been used to describe people
with an intelligence quotient (IQ) below 70. Wechsler
(1981) has classified the abilities of groups of people
according to IQ (Illustration 4).
People with learning disabilities commonly may have a
range of difficulties which might include approaches to
problem-solving, co-ordination difficulties, problems
with speech or comprehension, cognitive delay, or
slowness or inability to perform daily routines, such as
hygiene or feeding (Thompson, 1993a). The range or
number of difficulties an individual may have can be
very large or equally, very small.
Increasingly, therefore, it has been useful to state a
person's abilities rather than emphasising their
negative disabilities. With the promotion of community
living, definitions of learning disability have come to
include extent of a person's ability to live alone or
his or her 'independence'. A useful, working definition,
taken from Thompson (1993b), has been adopted for
several studies:
A person with a learning disability is someone who is,
to a varying degree, dependent on others for their
living needs because of a cognitive impairment
resulting from hereditary abnormalities or directly
following (or during) birth. They may (or may not) also
have associated physical/sensory/behavioural/medical
disabilities'. (p 195).
In DSM-IV (APA, 1994), mental retardation is defined
as:
A. Significantly subaverage intellectual functioning:
an IQ of approximately 70 or below on an individually
administered IQ test (for infants, a clinical judgement
of significantly subaverage intellectual functioning).
1. Concurrent deficits or impairments in present
adaptive functioning (ie the persons effectiveness in
meeting the standards expected for his or her age by
his or her cultural group) in at least two of the following
areas: communication, self-care, home living,
social/interpersonal skills, use of community resources,
self-direction, functional academic skills, wok, leisure,
health, and safety.
2. The onset is before age 18 years. (p 46). 'Down's
syndrome' (previously termed 'mongolism') is the most
frequently observed forms of learning disability (eg
Moody & Moody, 1992). The former is used more
often clinically and was first described by John
Langdon Haydon Down as a separate entity in 1866
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WMC001681
(Down, 1866) and independently in the same year by

Seguin (Seguin, 1866). Seguin referred to the
disorder as 'furfuraceous cretinism', emphasising an
assumed relationship to cretinism, while Down, struck
by some aspects of the physiognomy of the patients
which were superficially similar to those of people in
outer Mongolia, called it Mongolian idiocy. Thankfully,
today people with such disorders are more commonly
referred to by their first names, thus recognising the
fact that there is a person behind such stigmatizing
labels.
A characteristic of Down's syndrome is the presence
of an extra chromosome ('trisomy 21') (Shermann, et
al., 1991). Often the person has developmental delays
(Maclean, et al., 1991), mostly a larger head
circumference (Palmer, et al., 1992), and language
difficulties (Bigler, 1992; Pulsifer, 1996), especially
with ageing (Young & Kramer, 1991). Down's
syndrome has been the focus of much research and
controversy (Barr, 1990); because of increased
longevity (Eyman, Call & White, 1991), individuals with
Down's syndrome are living long enough to be at risk
for a host of age-related diseases (Evenhuis, 1997;
Young & Kramer, 1991).
Neuropsychology of dementia with learning
disability, and Down's syndrome
It should be noted that, just as with the general
population, people with learning disabilities can
develop any of the different types of dementias
(Evenhuis, 1997). As with the wider 'normal'
population, these different diseases have different
courses, for example, step-wise versus insidious
decline when comparing vascular dementia with
Alzheimer's disease. There is evidence to suggest that
the neuropsychology of dementia in people who have
Downs syndrome may be different (Pulsifer, 1996;
Vincent, 1996), especially when considering the
difference in level of performances obtained on
neuropsychological tests (Cooper, et al., 2001).
However, these performances may depend upon the
level of general abilities possessed by the client being
tested.
It is interesting to note that it is an overdose of
otherwise perfectly normal genes in Downs syndrome
that causes disorders of human health,
indistinguishable from major public health problems of
the general population, such as Alzheimers disease
(Nizetic, 2001). A number of difficulties arise when
attempting to assess people with a learning disability,
whether or not they possess the signs associated with
dementia. For example, many of these clients have
limited or poorly developed language (Bigler, 1992);
poor comprehension; apraxia or agnosia; or suffer
from depressive illness (Cooper & Collacott, 1993), or

other psychiatric disabilities (Moss, Goldberg & Patel,
1991). They may have specific physical disabilities,
such as incontinence, abnormal reflexes, or
behavioural problems (eg inappropriate behaviour,
stereotyped movements, or pronounced anxiety) that
make conventional psychological testing awkward or
even impossible. Without electroencephalography
(Devinsky, et al., 1990) or brain scanning (Pinter, Eliez
& Schmitt, 2001; Schapiro, Haxby & Grady, 1992),
these clients may simply manifest the processes of
normal ageing (Evenhuis, 1997).
Combining cognitive tests with other measures of
dementia pathology, for example, brain scans (Pinter,
et al., 2001; Schapiro, Haxby & Grady, 1992), may
reveal more distinctive early clinical indicators of
cognitive deterioration. Although definitive diagnosis of
Alzheimers disease does appear to be forthcoming
until post-mortem (Nemes, et al., 2001).
In 1876, Fraser and Mitchell first noted an association
between Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease,
but it was not until 1929 when Struwe described the
characteristic senile plaques of Alzheimer's disease in
the brains of individuals with Down's syndrome
(Cooper, et al., 2001). Jervis (1948) and Verhaart and
Jelgersma (1952) described clinical deterioration
associated with Alzheimer-like changes at post
mortem in a number of people with Down's syndrome;
subsequent research focused on establishing
similarities between the neuropathological changes in
the brains of elderly Down's syndrome individuals and
the senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and
granulovacuolar degeneration characteristic of
Alzheimer's disease. By the 1960s the link between
the two disorders was clearly established and now
re-affirmed (Potter, 1991). However, the
neuropathogical features and neuropsychology of
people who have both Down's syndrome and
Alzheimers disease continues to be researched
(Cooper, et al., 2001; Evenhuis, 1997; Nizetic, 2001).
Currently, there are four genes that are implicated in
risk for Alzheimers disease (Pericak-Vance, et al.,
2000; Myers & Goate, 2001). Mutations in the genes
that encode beta-amyloid precursor protein (beta-APP)
(Goate, Charter-Harlin & Mullan, 1991), presenilin-1
(Sherrington, Rogaer & Liang, 1995), and presenilin-2
(Levy-Lahad, Wasco & Poorkaj, 1995) cause the rare
early-onset form of familial Alzheimers disease (see
Grimaldi, Casadei & Ferri, 2000). The fourth gene,
which encodes apolipoprotein E (Hofman, et al.,
1997), is a major risk factor in both early-onset (onset
before 65 years) and late-onset (onset after 65 years)
Alzheimers disease (Corder, Saunders & Strittmatter,
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WMC001681
1993; Scott, Grubber & Conneally, 2000). There are

three common alleles of the ApoE gene: e2, e3 and e4
(Myers & Goate, 2001). In Caucasian populations,
individuals who carry the e4 allele are three
(heterozygotes) to eight (homozygotes) times more
likely to develop Alzheimers disease than individuals
who do not harbour the e4 allele (Corder, et al., 1993).
However, there is still debate over whether or not
people with Down's syndrome also present with typical
clinical features of Alzheimer's disease (Oliver, 1999),
since many such individuals maintain good physical
and mental health into the fourth and fifth decades of
life (Evenhuis, 1997).
Recent advances in genetics, however, allow us to
better understand the link between Downs syndrome
and Alzheimers disease (Nizetic, 2001). Downs
syndrome, as a phenotypic result of trisomy 21, is a
complex condition with a set of over 30 phenotypic
features which manifest themselves with varying
frequencies among affected individuals (Nizetic,
2001). The risk of Alzheimers disease among fathers
of probands with Downs syndrome has been found to
be similar to that of control fathers (Schupf, et al.,
2001). Furthermore, Schupf and colleagues (2001)
suggest that there is a fivefold risk of Alzheimers
disease in mothers who gave birth to children with
Downs syndrome before age 35 which indicates a
specific vulnerability to Alzheimers disease, as
opposed to other age-related degenerative disorders.
There are difficulties in assessing people with Downs
syndrome because there may be other factors that
contribute towards a poor performance on a
neuropsychological test, for example, failure on a test
or poor performance might indicate dementia or an
underlying disability (Atkinson, 1991a). Clearly, these
restrictions would not be necessary if the 'intelligence'
of this client population was evenly distributed
throughout age groups (Oliver, 1999).
When considering these issues, other questions are
raised. For instance, are the associated changes in
behaviour present but undetected in people with
Down's syndrome due to poor institutional
environments? To complicate this further, it also
seems likely that there is an increased prevalence of
epilepsy with age in sufferers of Alzheimer's disease
(eg Thompson, 1997). Making the distinction between
the effects of long-term epilepsy and types of brain
damage on cerebral function can often be a difficult
process (Thompson & Morgan, 1996; Thompson,
North & Pentland, 1992).
Although a high proportion of individuals with Down's
syndrome develop the neuropsychological changes of
Alzheimer's disease, only a proportion develop the

definite signs of deterioration and have the clinical
features characteristic of the later stages of
Alzheimer's disease (Schupf, et al., 2001; Thompson,
1997). It is also often difficult to discriminate between
pre- or perinatal brain damage (eg meningitis; anoxia)
in association with normal ageing and those
considered to be the result of a dementing process
(Evenhuis, 1997). The situation is more complicated in
people with a learning disability when there can be
other confounding variables such as the long-term
effects of institutional living, communication and
comprehension difficulties, and the lack of a premorbid
intelligence quotient since intellectual deficits may
have originated from birth (Thompson, 1993b).
The paradox between unequivocal neuropathological
findings and limited clinical evidence of dementia,
particularly in Down's syndrome, has been partly
resolved by the use of specific neuropsychological
assessments to detect age-related deficits (Cooper, et
al., 2001; Pulsifer, 1996) but conclusive evidence to
distinguish clinical features of dementia from normal
ageing in people with Down's syndrome is still not
available.
Social and cultural differences
In 1994, the 25th anniversary of the first statement of
the principle of normalization in the human service
literature was celebrated. Normalization, also termed
'social role valorization' (Wolfensberger & Kugel, 1969)
is a complex term covering a number of important
different areas of living skills. Broadly, it can be
defined in three ways:
(i) Values: Normalization is based on the belief that
people with learning disabilities should be socially
accepted and valued with the same rights as other
non-learning disabled people who live in the
mainstream of society as valued and respected
citizens. Within different cultures, there are specific
rights and societal positions. For example, the
Chinese community is regarded as having a high
respect for its elders, especially the grandparents, who
have a key role in decisions and life in the family.
Little is known about the integration of people with
learning disabilities in specific cultures, but it is
suspected that this varies greatly, with poorer care
being associated with countries that have poor
economies or poorly-run health services.
(ii) Health and social services: Normalization also has
implications for the design and delivery of services to
people with learning disabilities. There have been
several changes in attitude over the years about the
delivery and type of services, and management
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WMC001681
implications. For example, Local Based Hospital Units

(LBHUs) used to be the chosen housing for people
with learning disabilities moving from large institutions,
into ward-type accommodation often comprising 20- or
25-bedded dormitory-style rooms. A move away from
LBHUs to smaller 'group homes' of 4 or 5 residents
followed with an emphasis increasingly towards
'normal' accommodation such as houses or bungalows
in ordinary housing areas. Older people, with or
without learning disabilities, have often been
re-housed according to financial constraints; some
people moving from 'long-stay' institutions have been
re-located to geographical areas previously unknown
to themselves but with such tentative links as their
original place of birth. Clearly, this is inhumane and
people with learning disabilities deserve the rights
given to everyone in choosing when and where to live.
(iii) Relationships: Normalization includes views and
feelings about other people and how people with
learning disabilities interact at a personal level. It is
also about the rights of older people with learning
disabilities and includes such rights as their sexuality
(Thompson, 1994).
In 1985, Somerset Social Services Department and
the local health authority put together an ambitious
strategy (Turnbull, 1993); firstly, to establish social
services as the lead agency in this field and secondly,
to close three hospitals for people with learning
disabilities. The benefits for former residents, whose
lifestyles were now more ordinary, and who were
rightly proud of their achievements, was highlighted in
an evaluation conducted by the University of Kent
(Somerset County Council, 1992) that showed these
new arrangements to be superior. Around Great
Britain, other agencies have evaluated their services
following earlier recommendations from the Jay report
(Jay, 1979) and Cullen (1991) report.
Services for people with learning disabilities in Gwent
were provided for 10 years within the framework of the
All Wales Strategy and All Wales Specialist Nurse
Group (1992) and previously, the Welsh Office (1983).
As Kay (1993) suggests, 'it took the Briggs Committee
(Briggs, 1972) much prolonged discussion to suggest
a new role for mental handicap nursing in 1972'.
Indeed, it would seem that any change from existing
services takes time and convincing the relevant
decision-makers.
Certainly before long we will be faced with the
situation of caring for older people with learning
disabilities and with providing them with equivalent
care to our existing older population. However, rather
than training people with specialist roles, for example,
specialist nurses, Cox (1993) and also Thompson
(1997) advocate that we should be focusing on

meeting the various needs of people with learning
disabilities; then, the role of the nurse will become
evident. This seems to make sense so long as our
specialism-trained staff are not lost or our special skills
substituted by generic workers with rather diluted skills.
Measuring dementia
There are a number of assessment tasks available to
the clinical psychologist; for example, the Rivermead
Behavioural Memory Test (Wilson, Cockburn &
Baddeley, 1991) is useful in establishing the level of a
patient's procedural memory functioning but does not
tell the clinician much about the patient's specific
memory deficits particularly in which modalities the
deficits may be occurring, ie visual or auditory. More
specific cognitive testing using the Wechsler Memory
Scale - Revised (Wechsler, 1988) allows for
identification of visual or auditory memory deficits, the
patient's ability to learn new items ("new learning") and
visuospatial deficits.
If the patient has difficulty remembering particular
words or people's faces, these deficits can be
assessed using the Recognition Memory Test
(Warrington, 1984). Simple questioning about personal
details, events and familiar routines is helpful to gain
an impression of the patient's deficits and abilities.
Interviewing spouse, close relatives, carers or friends
about the patient's past history can be beneficial, and
the Autobiographical Memory Interview (Greene,
Hodges & Baddeley, 1995; Kopelman, Wilson &
Baddeley, 1990) is useful for comparing information
obtained.
Besides diagnostic uncertainty, there are a number of
methodological issues that complicate the
understanding of dementia, depression and their
interaction. One of these is the issue that the course of
many dementias is over a relatively long time span.
Longitudinal studies are therefore favoured but these
bring with them the problems of funding and resources,
and natural attrition of subjects. There is also a
problem of gaining consent for participation in
research and permission from next of kin in the case
of post mortem analysis (see Hagberg & Gustafson,
1985).
Applicability of test material that is already available
and standardised, is also an important consideration.
For example, the Test of Everyday Attention
(Roberston, et al., 1994) has been validated with
Alzheimer's disease patients and those of low
intellectual level. Transferability of norms across
different client groups, for example, using the WAIS-R
(Wechsler, 1981), has also been debated (Atkinson,
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1991a).
Tests, such as the Middlesex Elderly Assessment of
Mental State (Golding, 1989); Kendrick Cognitive
Tests for the Elderly (Kendrick, 1985); Clifton
Assessment Procedures for the Elderly (Pattie &
Gilleard, 1979); or the Dementia Rating Scale (Mattis,
1988; Paul, et al., 2001) are very useful screening
tools for dementia and can indicate the need for
further testing in specific areas of deficits, such as
memory for faces, recognition of everyday objects or
arithmetic ability.
Lishman (1987) warns that unless a full and
comprehensive evaluation is made of a suspected
dementing patient, the label of a primary dementing
illness, for example, carries a hopeless prognosis.
Care must be taken not only in carrying out tests but
also in the interpretation of results. Hence, a specific
and detailed knowledge base is required of a clinician
to interpret results even if the actual tests have been
carried out by non-specialised generic workers.
In recent years, there have been a number of studies
seeking to measure the symptoms characteristic of
dementia (eg Nagy, et al., 1998; Schmand, et al., 1998;
Tyrell, et al., 1996). Making a diagnosis of dementia,
particularly in its early stages in a person with
intellectual disability, can be a difficult process (Deb &
Braganza, 1999). Following the evaluation of a
screening instrument for dementia in ageing mentally
retarded people (Evenhuis, 1992; 1996), various
studies have attempted to devise testing batteries for
identifying dementia in individuals with intellectual
disability (eg Burt & Aylward, 2000; Hon, et al., 1999;
Thompson, 1999b).
Some have suggested that the level and variability of
intellectual disability have both militated against the
use of existing neuropsychological tests and promoted
the use of informant-based interviews (Oliver, 1999).
Whilst others (Das, et al., 1995; Aylward & Burt, 1998;
Mitchell, 1998) have identified and demonstrated the
usefulness of individual assessments for people with
dementia and learning disabilities.
A Working Group set up to devise such a testing
battery recommended both administration of
informant-based scales and direct assessment of the
individual (Burt & Aylward, 2000). This was the
conclusion of previous studies (Aylward, et al., 1997;
Burt, et al., 1999). Further recommendations were that
such a battery should include the facility for
questioning informants who may be familiar with
various aspects of the history and current functioning
of the individual. This follows from the findings of
Reiss (1987) and Gedye (1995). Such a scale for
informing the diagnostic process is the Dementia

Questionnaire for Mentally Retarded Persons
(Evenhuis, 1992; 1996) and the Hampshire Social
Services Assessment (HSS, 1989) which rely on
informant (carer) knowledge and completion.
Information obtained from such scales add to the
picture obtained from direct assessment of the patient
(Deb & Braganza, 1999; Thompson, 1999b).
In terms of direct measures of dementia in people with
learning disabilities, there have been very few reports
in recent years. Das, et al. (1995) tested the Dementia
Rating Scale (DRS) on moderately retarded subjects
with and without Downs syndrome. Evaluation of the
DRS as a measure of dementia was carried out by
administering the following tests for a comparison of
measures: the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
(Revised), the Matrix Analogies Test (Expanded Form)
and the Draw-A-Person Test. Results showed the
DRS to be appropriate for clinical use as a screening
tool for loss of competence due to ageing among
individuals with mental retardation (Das, et al., 1995).
However, the subjects tested were moderately
retarded; thus caution should be aired when testing
more severely mentally retarded persons because of
the possibilities of floor effects (Thompson, 1999b).
More recent studies (Hon, et al., 1999) have examined
the CAMCOG and its use as a neuropsychological
assessment of older adults with Downs syndrome.
The advantages of the CAMCOG is that it yields
separate scores on seven subscales as well as the
total score. Hon, et al. (1999) tested a population of
Downs syndrome individuals (age range 30 65
years) living in a single Health Authority catchment
area. Of the 77 people with Downs syndrome in the
area, 74 agreed to take part, making the study a near
total population sample.
Scores on the CAMCOG were well distributed, with
only 8 participants (11%) scoring zero on the test. This
contrasted favourably with performance on the Mini
Mental State Examination where there was a narrower
range of scores and a higher percentage scoring zero.
There was a significant difference in cognitive
performance between younger (30 44 years) and
older (45+ years) participants on the total CAMCOG
score and on 6 out of 7 CAMCOG scales (Hon, et al.,
1999). The authors concluded that the CAMCOG, with
minor modifications, is a useful test to assess those
areas of cognitive function known to decline with
dementia. Apart from those with pre-existing severe
learning disability, severe sensory impairments and/or
already advanced dementia, the authors stated that
the participants were able to score above the floor of
the test.
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A similar direct assessment tool, devised by Golding

(1989), is the Middlesex Elderly Assessment of Mental
State. This has the advantage over the CAMCOG of
being simpler to understand and quicker to administer.
Like the CAMCOG, it has separate scores for
subscales as well as a total score, and does not
appear to be subject to floor or ceiling effects (Golding,
1989; Thompson, 1999c). Although not proposed as a
dementia screening tool per se without the
accompaniment of other tests of cognitive function
(Golding, 1989), it purports to measure symptoms of
dementia over the same range as the CAMCOG. The
Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of
Neurological Status (RBANS) is a similar tool but is
complicated to use because of its index structure and
analysis (Schmitt, et al., 2010).
Other validated tools have been used for assessing
people with dementia with varying degrees of success.
These have given rise to more discussion than
consensus over their reliability, specificity and, of
course, unsuitability of use with people who have a
learning disability as well as dementia. Such measures
include: the Geriatric Depression Scale (Hall & Davis,
2010); face-name associations (Hopper, et al., 2010);
California Verbal Learning Test (Lekeu, et al., 2010);
the Tower of London Test (Mrchegiani, Giannelli &
Odetti, 2009); animal naming (Davis, et al., 2010); and
the Stroop Test (Balota, et al., 2008). Tracking
technology has also been used by Oswald and
colleagues (2010) for assessing outdoor mobility for
mildly cognitively impaired people.
Environmental factors can influence assessment.
Patients examined in a noisy setting, such as a room
in a busy outpatient department or a part of the
hospital that is particularly 'clinical' (has a clinical smell
or plain walls), may perform less well (Thompson,
1995). Sometimes the patient is very disorientated and
it may be necessary to establish the exact degree of
disorientation the patient is experiencing; for example,
the person may be unsure about the day or the month
and year or does not know their date of birth or where
they are being assessed. A checklist is often useful to
determine this knowledge and can be used at frequent
intervals to monitor the patient's level of orientation to
their surroundings and circumstances. The
Mini-Mental State Examination (Folstein, Folstein &
McHugh, 1975) elaborates this type of questioning.
Difficulties in assessing learning disability
It should be noted that, just as with the general
population, people with learning disabilities can
develop any of the different types of dementias, ie
vascular, arteriosclerotic or parenchymatous (such as
Alzheimers disease). As with the wider normal
population, these different diseases have different

course, for example, step-wise versus insidious
decline when comparing multi-infarct dementia with
Alzheimers disease. There is no evidence to suggest
that the neuropsychology of dementia is any different
in the learning disability population excepting the
difference in level of performances obtained on
neuropsychological tests. These performances will
depend upon the level of general abilities possessed
by the client being tested.
A number of difficulties arise when attempting to
assess people with a learning disability, whether or not
they possess the signs associated with dementia. For
example, many of these clients have limited or poorly
developed language (Pulsifer, 1996); poor
comprehension; apraxia or agnosia; or suffer from
depressive illness (Cooper & Collacott, 1993), or other
psychiatric disabilities (Evenhuis, 1997). They may
have specific physical disabilities, such as
incontinence, abnormal reflexes, or behavioural
problems (eg inappropriate behaviour, stereotyped
movements, or pronounced anxiety) that make
conventional psychological testing awkward or even
impossible. These clients may simply manifest the
processes of normal ageing (Kline, et al., 2000;
Zigman, et al., 1996).
Recommendations for clinical assessment
When using any instrument of measurement for
clinical evaluation, it is necessary to consider three
key points: (i) reliability, (ii) validity, and (iii) standard
error and norms. In addition, the use of some tests
may have limited use with certain subjects because of
(iv) floor and (v) ceiling effects. These points will be
discussed with particular relevance to each of the tests
administered.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised
(WAIS-R)
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised
(WAIS-R: Wechsler, 1981) provides the clinician with
an overall 'intelligence quotient' or IQ, but more
usefully, gives a profile of the patient's verbal and
performance abilities on a variety of tests. There have
been several revisions in the past two decades but the
WAIS-R continues to be used an recognised in the UK,
especially in the courtroom for Expert Witness
testimony and because of the provision to pro-rate
items I order to shorten the overall administration
duration of the test.
The 11 subtests of the WAIS-R provide data on a
'general intelligence' (g) factor, as well as two or three
factorially derived group dimensions (Wechsler, 1981).
Additionally, each subtest measures certain 'specific'
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or 'unique' abilities, capacities that are not assessed

by the other subscales (Leckliter, Matarazzo &
Silverstein, 1986). Central to the diagnostic endeavour
is a need to distinguish variation between subtests that
can be attributed to measurement error and variation
that reflects a true difference in underlying abilities
(Atkinson, 1991a). McNemar (1957) published a table
of reliabilities, standard deviations and standard errors
of measurement of difference scores for the original
WAIS (Wechsler, 1955). These statistics enable the
clinician to determine the extent to which difference
scores can be attributed to measurement error, and
the extent to which they reflect true differences across
ability levels. Piedmont, Sokolove and Fleming (1989)
published figures for interpreting WAIS-R difference
scores based on a sample of 229 psychiatric patients
and recommended fuller exploration of the WAIS-R
with more homogeneous clinical samples.
Atkinson (1991b) produced a similar table describing
the properties of subtest score differences for the
WAIS-R standardisation sample. He argued that
calculations used by McNemar (1957) and Piedmont,
Sokolove and Fleming (1989) were technically
incorrect for generalising beyond their samples since
their standard error of measurement (which he
claimed was purely descriptive in nature), provided an
inflated estimate of score norms (Lord & Novick, 1968;
Dudek, 1979). Atkinson's (1991a) data, based on a
sample of 290 individuals with 'developmental delay',
provides a better estimate; however, whilst potentially
being a very useful tool, Atkinson (1991a) warns that
even his sample is not presented as 'normative' for the
learning disability population. He suggests that the
tables provide a 'tentative empirical yardstick'. This still
leaves clinicians and researchers with limited and
non-generalisable norms with which to compare
across people with a range of learning disabilities.
(i) Reliability
Since reliability is a function of the group on which it is
determined, reliability information for the WAIS-R is
provided separately by age group. Two type of data
are offered: correlation coefficients and standard
errors of measurement.
Different types of reliability computations were used to
estimate the reliabilities of the WAIS-R tests. When
appropriate, a split-half procedure was employed
(Wechsler, 1981). This produces a correlation
coefficient between scores on two halves of the test,
which is then corrected by the Spearman-Brown
formula to obtain a reliability coefficient for the full
length test. The split-half procedure is not appropriate
for estimating the reliability of highly speeded tests
(Digit Symbol) or tests where the two halves may be
considered separate tests (Digit Span). For such tests

an alternative method for estimating reliability is to use
a test-retest procedure.
With the exception of coefficients for Digit Span and
Digit Symbol, the reliability for each test has been
determined using the split-half technique (usually odd
versus even items) and correcting for the full length of
the test. For Digit Span and Digit Symbol, reliability
coefficients were derived from test-retest studies of
samples at four age groups ranging in size from 48 to
80 individuals.
Across the age groups 35 years to 69 years, a high
degree of reliability can be seen in the subtests;
ranging from .67 as the lowest (Object Assembly: age
range - 65-69 years) to .97 as the highest (Vocabulary:
age range - 35-44 years; 55-64 years; 65-69 years).
Of the overall IQ scores for the WAIS-R, the fullscale
and verbal IQ is the most reliable, followed closely by
the performance IQ, across age groups. Respective
correlation coefficients across age groups are: 35-44
years (.98; .97; .94); 45-54 years (.97; .97; .94); 55-64
years (.97; .97; .93); and 65-69 years (.98; .97; .94).
Reliability coefficients of all WAIS-R tests can be seen
in Table 10 of Wechsler (1981), page 30.
(ii) Validity
The initial evidence of the validity of the Wechsler
adult scales stems from the procedures used to
determine the content of the original 1939
Wechsler-Bellevue (W-B) Scale (Wechsler, 1981).
Tests were selected for inclusion on the W-B based on
their correlations with other established tests of
intelligence and with empirical judgements of
intelligence, on ratings by experienced clinicians, and
on empirical studies of several groups of known
intellectual level (Wechsler, 1958). Studies have been
conducted relating Wechsler scale scores and various
measures of academic success. In a concise summary
of some of these studies, Zimmerman and Woo-Sam
(1973) note that the strength of the relationship
between Wechsler scale IQs and academic success is
dependent on the adequacy of the latter. Comparisons
of means for groups of various levels of educational
attainment consistently show that average Wechsler
scale scores for individuals with lower levels of
education are lower than scores for individuals with
higher levels. Matarazzo (1972) draws the conclusion
from a number of studies of various measures of
intelligence, including the Wechsler scales, that the
correlation between IQ and performance in school is
about .50. Research has also shown the Wechsler
adult scales to be related to various other correlates of
global intelligence (Matarazzo, 1972).
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(iii) Standard error and norms

In Wechsler (1981)'s manual, normative values are
available for ages 16 to 74 years. ln Table 12 (p 33),
he presents scaled scores on each of the eleven tests
and the three IQs, fullscale, verbal and performance.
To illustrate the interpretation of these statistics, at age
16-17 years the SEM for Similarities is 1.29 scaled
score points. This means that the chances are about
two out of three that an individual's obtained score on
Similarities lies within 1.29 scaled score points (one
SEM) of his or her "true" score, and the chances are
about 19 out of 20 that the obtained score lies within
2.58 points (ie twice the SEM) of the "true" score on
Similarities.
The standard errors of measurement reported by
Wechsler (1981) are expressed in scaled score units
for the eleven tests of the WAIS-R and in IQ units for
the fullscale, verbal and performance IQs. This
accounts for the fact that although the reliability
coefficients are higher for the three IQs than for the
separate tests, the standard errors of measurement of
the IQs are uniformly larger than those of the eleven
tests.
The average values of the SEMs presented for the
eleven WAIS-R tests range from .61 scaled score
points for Vocabulary to 1.54 scaled score points for
Object Assembly. Information, Vocabulary and Block
Design, which are the most reliable of the tests across
all age groups, have the smallest standard errors of
measurement; Object Assembly and Picture
Arrangement, the least reliable of the tests, generally
have the largest SEMs. For the three WAIS-R IQs,
average SEMs are 2.53, 2.74 and 4.14 IQ points for
fullscale, verbal and performance, respectively.
Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM)
The 1956 edition of the Standard and Coloured
Progressive Matrices and the investigations reported
in the Guide of 1965 (Raven, 1965), are the outcome
of a group of studies begun at the Crichton Royal
Hospital during the mid- to late- 1940s. The Raven
Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) are designed
for use with young children and older people, for
anthropological studies, and for clinical work. They can
be 'used satisfactorily with people who, for any reason,
cannot understand or speak the English language,
with people who are intellectually sub-normal or have
deteriorated' (Raven, Court & Raven, 1990; p 2).
The RCPM aim to measure logical thinking and
problem-solving skills (Raven, 1965). The three sets of
twelve problems constituting the coloured matrices are
arranged to assess the chief cognitive processes of
which children under 11 years of age are usually
capable. The sets together provide three opportunities

for a person to develop a consistent theme of thought,
and the scale of thirty-six problems as a whole is
designed to assess as accurately as possible, mental
development up to intellectual maturity.
The coloured matrices are arranged to assess mental
development up to the stage when a person is
sufficiently able to reason by analogy to adopt the way
of thinking as a consistent method of inference. This
apparently decisive stage in intellectual maturation
appears to be one of the earliest to decline in later life,
and the one most apt to be seriously impaired as the
result of organic dysfunction (Raven, 1965; van den
Broek & Bradshaw, 1994). Racial studies indicate that
its muturation is partly a question of the native
endowment of the individual, and partly the result of
environmental influences and cultural opportunities, at
least to the extent that in the absence of stimulation,
the development of logical thinking tends to remain
latent, or to develop somewhat later in life (Raven,
1965).
The way in which the test is presented, the fact that it
is untimed, and the group of figures from which choice
has to be made, have been chosen to ensure that
success depends only upon a person's present
capacity for intellectual activity. Presenting the test as
coloured illustrations printed in a book makes the
problem to be solved clear and with the least possible
verbal explanation. Manipulation of the material is not
essential for success, as a person need only indicate
which figure they wish to insert in the problem to be
completed. A person's maximum capacity for clear
thinking has been found to vary with health and to
improve with practice, less than their speed of
accurate work (Raven, 1965). An untimed "capacity"
test is therefore more useful than a test in which a
person has to work against time. It has also been
found that when the figures between which choice has
to be made are arranged below the problem to be
solved, the distribution of choices is more uniform than
is the case when the figures are arranged, for example,
to the right (Raven, 1956).
Raven (1965) states that small groups of carefully
selected subjects, rather than reliance of large
numbers, were used in order to obtain diagnostically
useful information. This meant that more information
about individual subjects could be collected. However,
the inevitable downfall of this policy is that comparison
can only be made of relatively small numbers of
people, for example, 50 healthy subjects.
(i) Reliability
A number of studies have assessed test-retest
Page 21 of 42
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reliability of the RCPM across the world; for example,

Li, et al. (1988) found a reliability of .95 used with
normal Chinese children in Shanghai. Raven, Court
and Raven (1995) report evidence from a study of 55
normal older adults in which there was a retest
reliability of .79 following a six month interval. Other
studies also support these latter findings (Measso, et
al., 1993; Vodegel-Matzen, van der Molen & Dudink,
1994).
(ii) Validity
Since its inception (see Raven, 1956), the RCPM has
been further developed and various studies,
particularly in the USA, have considered the validity of
the RCPM (eg Emerling, 1990; Das & Jarman, 1991;
Gainotti, et al., 1992). These studies have led to the
conclusion that three types of item can be identified
within the RCPM: abstract reasoning by analogy,
pattern completion through identity and closure, and
simple pattern completion. Raven, Court and Raven
(1995) report that in a German study of 180 subjects,
these factors accounted for 36 per cent of the total
variance. With a larger sample (783 children) in a
Californian study, the same three factors accounted
for 28 per cent of the total variance (Raven, Court &
Raven, 1995).
Details about standard error for this test are not clear
in the relevant literature, except for norms of children
aged 5.5 - 11.5 years of age (Raven, Court & Raven,
1995; p 57), and for normal and emotionally disturbed
children aged 6.5 - 12.5 years of age (Raven, 1965; p
39). However, normative values of raw scores are
stated, together with percentiles (Raven, Court &
Raven, 1990; 1995: pp 37 - 43, and p 63,
respectively). Additionally, qualitative comment can be
found in Raven's (1965) guide about subjects who are
"low-grade", "high-grade" and "seriously defective"
intellectually. Respectively, these subjects find greater
difficulty with the more complex figures and hence,
generally score lower as the sets increase in
complexity (set A1-12 is the easiest, then set Ab1-12,
then set B1-12). Norms are only available for subjects
aged 55 - 85 years (Raven, Court & Raven, 1995; p
63).
Middlesex Elderly Assessment of Mental State
(MEAMS)
This test was developed as a screening test to detect
gross impairment of specific cognitive skills in the
elderly (Golding, 1989). It has been designed to assist
clinicians to differentiate between functional illnesses
and organically based cognitive impairments. Unlike a
number of simple screening tests, for example, those
intended to detect dementia, the MEAMS

systematically surveys the major areas of cognitive
performance using a comprehensive range of
sub-tests, namely, orientation, name learning, naming,
comprehension, remembering pictures, arithmetic,
spatial construction, fragmented letter perception,
unusual views, usual views, verbal fluency, and motor
perseveration.
The subject is required to perform a number of simple
tasks, each designed to test some aspect of current
cognitive functioning. The tests are sensitive to the
functioning of different areas of the brain, each
responsible for a different mental capacity (Golding,
1989). There are two versions of the MEAMS, version
A and version B, to allow for reassessment. Each
version comprises 12 subtests.
(i) Reliability
Various researchers have examined the reliability of
the MEAMS (eg Golding, 1989; van Belle, et al.,
1990). In a study using 12 subjects with probable
dementia and 12 matched controls, relative reliability
of the MEAMS was found to be comparable to other
tests used to assess cognitive function in dementia
(Powell, Brooker & Papadopolous, 1993). Significant
correlations (p < .001) were observed between trials 1
and 2 for the dementia group (r = .82) and across all
subjects (r = .95). Relative reliability in the control
group could not be assessed because on trial 1 nine
control subjects achieved 100 per cent correct.
Absolute reliability was examined by comparing the
scores of each individual across trials. Subtest
reliability was examined by discrepancies in the
pattern of subtests passed or failed across trials. The
discrepancies found between trials suggested a
version effect; however, due to the small sample size
this could not be verified conclusively. The authors
concluded that the MEAMS was a useful and reliable
global measure of cognitive function implying the use
of the total score for comparisons rather than
comparing individual subtest scores in the test-retest
situation.
(ii) Validity
Results of past studies revealed that although the
MEAMS was able to discriminate well between the
organically impaired and other groups, it was not
entirely satisfactory in its assessment of memory
(Golding, 1989). For that reason, the MEAMS was
supplemented with two additional subtests derived
from the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (Wilson,
Cockburn & Baddeley, 1985).
The principal validation of the MEAMS was based on
older patients aged between 65 and 93 years of age
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who attended a London day hospital (Golding, 1989).

Four groups of patients were compared, each
independently diagnosed with either multi-infarct or
Alzheimer-type dementia (groups 1 & 2) and two sets
of depressed patients (groups 3 & 4). Results
indicated that performances by the dementia patients
(groups 1 & 2) were substantially poorer on virtually
every subtest than was the case for the patients
diagnosed as suffering from depression (Golding,
1989). Furthermore, there was apparently no
difference between the subgroup of patients
diagnosed as depressive without the use of the
MEAMS, and those who had subsequently been
diagnosed in knowledge of their MEAMS score.
Results from validation studies have also shown a
tendency for Alzheimer-type patients to be more
impaired than multi-infarct dementia patients on
orientation, naming, comprehension, spatial
construction and perception of objects from usual and
unusual views. It is difficult to know whether this
pattern of results reflects a genuine difference in
overall severity between the two conditions or simply
some extraneous factor such as the point in the
disease at which the patient is referred for assessment.
Indeed, it is possible in Alzheimer disease for patients
to show a more insidious onset than in multi-infarct
dementia where the occurrence of a stroke may draw
the patient to the attention of the general practitioner.
skills teaching and physical care which are staff

intensive. Scores attributed to individual items are not
considered to be comparable to scores given to other
individual items as weightings have been calculated
for groups of items rather than individual ones.
Many of the items can also be found in other scales
derived by Hampshire Social Services and Hampshire
Health Authority, for example, the Hampshire
Assessment for Living Independently (see HSS, 1989,
for details). Scores are allocated according to level of
independence and associated behaviours,
communication and social skills. Weighting has been
given to self-care skills, problem behaviours, social
and communication skills, domestic/safety skills and
leisure/community use skills.
The assessment yields a total score of 200 with 0
representing the lowest level of learning disability (ie
the least support required) and 200 is the highest level
(ie the patient requires the most support). Thirty-five
items in total are scored. Although several items
include more than one skill area, weighting has been
given approximately as follows to core skill areas:
self-care (30%); social/communication skills (25%);
domestic/home-based skills (25%); and
leisure/community (20%). The original sample
population comprised 130 residents in Social Services
accommodation for people with severe learning
disabilities. This was drawn from a cross-section of the
complete range of learning disabilities.
Normative data (raw scores) across the subtests are

available together with probabilities of occurrence.
Total scores, means and standard deviations are also
given from the data of 33 Alzheimer-type dementia
patients, 25 elderly depressed patients and 60 elderly
control subjects, ranging from 65 - 93 years of age. No
norms are available for people with learning disabilities.
(i) Reliability
Hampshire Social Services Assessment (HSSA)
(ii) Validity
The HSSA is a carer-rated questionnaire to be

completed about a patient whom the carer knows well
or with whom the carer is in constant contact. The
purpose of this assessment is to provide a general
statement of the overall staff support level a person
may need (HSS, 1989). Within this overall staff
support level, there will be times and activities when
support will be less or greater. High scores on the
assessment reflect a higher level of staff support
required by an individual.
Data were compared between assessors and those

scores obtained from the officer-in-charge or
keyworker responsible for the same patients. This was
carried out in order to compare the perceptions of
each rater in assessing the patient's ability. A
correlation coefficient of .71 was obtained (p < .05) for
these comparisons. It is noted that this is not the same
as considering whether or not a particular test
measures what it is purported to do so, but it is instead
a way of evaluating the success of the assessment in
representing the "opinions" of raters about the
"abilities" of their patients. The authors state: 'detailed
tests of reliability and predictive validity are not
relevant or appropriate for this assessment. Scores
give snapshots of independence ratings in one
'Staff support' relates to providing training and other

enabling opportunities in addition to the more
traditional interpretation of 'support' as physical care of
the patient. Weightings have been included in the
assessment to incorporate support levels for particular
Twenty-six of the 130 residents approached in the

original sample were assessed by a second assessor.
When scores were compared, an inter-rater reliability
coefficient of .84 was obtained which is significant at
the 5% level. However, no test-retest reliability data is
available.
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particular environment' (HSS, 1989; p 8).
complete.
Although this statement is debatable on the grounds

that any instrument should be shown to be both
reliable and valid, acknowledgement is made that
there may be many factors involved in arriving at a
score for a particular patient in a particular setting and
that it is sometimes difficult or impossible to replicate
conditions and so demonstrate these points. There is
usually a way of demonstrating that a measure shows
the same thing given the same setting conditions; this
is sometimes achieved by comparing it with similar
measures. However, there does not appear to be
anything similar with which to compare it with to date.
The DMR has been evaluated in a number of studies

(Evenhuis, Eurlings & Kengen, 1984; Kengen, et al.,
1987; Evenhuis, 1990; Evenhuis, 1992b). Inter-rater
reliability, internal consistency of items, relationship
between intellectual level and scores, influence of
some physical handicaps on the scores, relationship
between the diagnosis of dementia and scores, and
the relationship between the diagnosis of depression
and scores was investigated in two cross-sectional
studies among older residents of three Dutch institutes
(Evenhuis, 1990; 1992b). Additionally, in the first of
these two prospective longitudinal studies (Evenhuis,
1990), during 1985 - 88 in 17 middle-aged
institutionalised subjects with Down's syndrome, the
relationship between the expert's diagnosis of
dementia and score changes was investigated.

No raw data or standard errors are available. Scores
(0 to 200) are shown in 6 bands: 0 - 30; 31 - 60; 61 110; 111 - 150; 152 - 200; 200+ (HSS, 1989; p 7). Age
range of sample was 30 - 70 years.
Dementia Questionnaire for Mentally Retarded
Persons (DMR)
To facilitate the diagnosis of dementia in 'intellectually
disabled persons', the DMR was devised by Evenhuis
(1992a). This is an English translation of the former
identical Dutch questionnaire published in Evenhuis,
Kengen and Eurlings (1990). The DMR is a
standardised informant-based questionnaire consisting
of 50 items to be completed by family or staff about
the patient who is known to them. Evenhuis (1992a)
suggests that the items are comparable to questions
put by a physician, psychologist or psychiatrist to a
patient or to a carer about a patient. They are based
on knowledge of symptoms of dementia obtained from
the American Psychiatric Association (APA, 1987),
and on the authors' experience with the behaviour of
intellectually disabled people. Although items are
placed in the questionnaire in an arbitrary sequence,
to prevent response tendencies, they can be arranged
into 8 subscales (divided into two categories): (i)
cognitive scores: short-term memory; long-term
memory; spatial and temporal orientation; and, (ii)
social scores: speech; practical skills; mood; activity
and interest; behaviour and disturbance.
The DMR is provided with a simple linear scoring
system. The items have three response categories: 0
points = no deficit, 1 point = moderate deficit, 2 points
= severe deficit. Therefore, higher scores correspond
to more severe deterioration. The subject's behaviour
during the last two months has to be judged. If an item
cannot be judged, for example, in the case of a lack of
expressive capacities of the subject, then the score
has to be "2". The questionnaire is provided with a
short instruction and takes about 15 - 20 minutes to
In the second study during 1983 - 89 in 139 older

institutionalised subjects without Down's syndrome
(Evenhuis, 1992b), again, the relationship between the
expert's diagnosis of dementia and score changes
was examined, to develop provisional criteria for
interpretation of DMR score changes. In this study,
absolute scores were also analysed and provisional
criteria were formulated for a diagnosis based on a
single completion of the DMR. In a final longitudinal
study during 1988, again reported in Evenhuis, 1992b,
the predictive value of the provisional criteria was
tested both in residents aged 70+ years without
Down's syndrome and in residents aged 35+ years
with Down's syndrome.
(i) Reliability
Results of examining inter-rater reliability (Evenhuis,
Eurlings & Kengen, 1984) revealed correlations for the
following items: short-term memory (.84); long-term
memory (.87); orientation (.86); speech (.68); practical
skills (.94); mood/activity and interest (.74); behaviour
disturbance (.44). The last correlation (.44) apparently
was caused by one of the six pairs of raters. No
test-retest reliability data was obtained.
(ii) Validity
Evenhuis, Eurlings and Kengen (1984) state that items
that 'correlated insufficiently with the other items within
their subscale, were removed'. T-tests that showed
those with a diagnosis of dementia scored significantly
higher than the group with a diagnosis of 'no dementia'
on the subscales short-term memory, orientation,
speech, practical skills and mood. This finding was
confirmed by discriminant analysis. When scores of
individuals were classified according to the results of
discriminant analysis, in 72% of subjects a DMR
diagnosis was made, corresponding to the diagnosis.
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A correct diagnosis based on DMR scores seemed

particularly difficult cases of a low intellectual level
(severely or profound), extreme apathy, or clouded
consciousness. With regard to the diagnosis of
depression versus dementia, results from two studies
(Evenhuis, Eurlings & Kengen, 1984; Kengen , et al.,
1987), found no relationship between a diagnosis of
depression and scores on the subscales "mood" and
"activity and interest".
Standard errors are not mentioned in the Evenhuis'
(1992a) manual but a table of norms is presented
enabling a comparison to be made between 'level of
retardation' (IQ score), age, total scores, and changes
in total scores following test-retest. In summary, score
changes in the total of scores of items comprising the
cognitive subscale (ie 'sum of cognitive scores' or
'SCS') give a more favourable sensitivity-specificity
relationship than do score changes of the social
subscale (ie 'sum of social scores' or 'SOS') (Evenhuis,
1992b). Independent of the level of 'retardation', an
increase of 7 points in the SCS and/or an increase of 4
points in the SOS has been found to be indicative of
dementia (Evenhuis, 1992a), using the American
Psychiatric Association's (APA, 1987) criteria for the
diagnosis of dementia.
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
The HADS is a self-assessment scale for detecting
states of depression and anxiety in hospital
outpatients. First presented by Zigmond and Snaith
(1983), the scale comprises 14 questions offering a
4-choice response to each question ranked 0 - 3. For
example, question 1 asks if the respondent feels tense
or 'wound up' and offers the choice of responses:
'Most of the time', 'A lot of the time', 'From time to time,
occasionally', and 'Not at all'. The ranks can be totalled
to give a score for 'anxiety' related questions and a
total score for 'depression' related questions. A total
score in either category within the range 0 - 7
suggests that the respondent's score is in the 'normal
range'; a score falling in the range 8 - 10 is 'borderline',
and in the range 11 - 21 is 'clinical' or "caseness" for
anxiety or depression.
Zigmond and Snaith (1983) have tested the use of the
HADS scale in outpatients aged 16 to 65 years of age
attending general medical clinics. The authors state
that in their opinion 'there is no reason to suppose that
its use would be invalid in patients attending other
hospital clinics but further research is needed ...'
(p.366). Results from the use of other scales used for
the diagnosis of psychiatric conditions were compared,
for example, the General Health Questionnaire
(Goldberg, 1972; Goldberg & Hillier, 1979), and

various depression rating scales (Kearns , et al.,
1982).
(i) Reliability
Following the accumulation of data on 100 subjects,
the reliability of the HADS was tested (Zigmond &
Snaith, 1983). There were found to be 1% false
positives and 1% false negatives (depression
subscale), and 5% false positives and 1% false
negatives (anxiety subscales). These figures indicate
the number of occasions a type I or type II error have
occurred (eg if a diagnosis of depression is made in
the absence of depression; or if a diagnosis of 'no
depression' is made in the presence of depression;
etc). However, test-retest data is not known.
The internal consistency of the two subscales (anxiety
and depression) was examined by calculating
correlations (Spearman) between each item and the
total score of the remaining items in the subscale
(Zigmond & Snaith, 1983). For the anxiety items, the
correlations ranged from +.76 to +.41 and the
significance of all these was p < .01. The analysis of
the depression scale items revealed one weak item (r
= .11), which was removed, and a range of
correlations from +.60 to +.30 (p < .02). Hence, overall
there was a high degree of internal consistency
amongst items. Further research (Zigmond & Snaith,
1983) also revealed that the subscales were both
reliable and valid in being used as measures of
severity.
(ii) Validity
Zigmond and Snaith (1983) examined whether the
anxiety and depression subscales detected different
aspects of mood disorder or, alternatively, were so
closely related that they could be considered to be
estimating much the same thing, for example, a
general index of emotional disturbance. In checking
this, the authors noted that, in clinical practice, many
patients suffer from similar degrees of both anxiety
and depression, and that this was indeed the case
with the sample tested. It was therefore clear that high
correlations between estimates of anxiety and
depression would be expected in any sample
containing a high proportion of patients with similar
degrees of both disorders.
In order to overcome this, the authors selected from
their sample all those patients in whom there was a
distinct difference between the interviewers'
assessments of the severity of anxiety and depression.
They examined the data of those patients in which
there was a difference of two or more points in the
severity; there were 17 such patients. The results of
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this analysis revealed that, whereas the patient-rated

subscales correlated significantly with the interviewers'
assessments of the appropriate mood disorder
(anxiety: +.54; depression: +.79), there were
significant correlations between the contrary disorders.
Although the size of the sub-sample was small, these
findings give some support to the view that the
subscales do in fact assess different aspects of mood
disorder.
A further investigation considered whether or not the
subscale scores were influenced by physical illness,
apart from mood disorder. Using subjects matched for
age and sex with the normal sample, the differences
were tested using the Students t-test. For both
subscales, the scores yielded non-significant results.
Hence, the physically ill patients of their study, (who
were assessed as not having a mood disorder), had
similar scores to the normal sample; this enabled the
authors to conclude that the scale scores had not
been affected by the respondent having a physical
illness.
No standard errors are quoted in Zigmond and Snaith
(1983). The normative ranges for scores on the HADS
for ages 16 to 65 years are: 0 7 Normal; 8 10
Bordeline; and 11 21 Clinical.
Conclusion
The use of any measure for the clinical assessment of
dementia, whether in people wih learning disabilities or
in the normal population carries with it limitations.
Informed knowledge of these limitations allows use
scientific choices which enable us to tailor our
neuropsychological battery or adopt alternative
measures.
Ultimately, there may be a compromise because of
these limitations; however, scientific understanding
has given us a better picture of the course of dementia
than ever before. With the advancement of technology,
such as MRI and fMRI, and PET and SPET scans,
used in conjunction with neuropsychological tests
administered at key time points including follow-ups,
the clinician is better placed to make a more reliable
diagnosis an prognosis than in the past. It is hope that
this will also enlighten service providers in widening
access to people with learning disabilities who also
have dementia.
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Illustrations
_____________________________________________________
Illustration
1
The person with depression
The person with dementia of

the
type
Differences between depression and Alzheimer
dementia (adapted
from Thompson, 1993, page 8)
_____________________________________________________
Often complains of a poor
Is often unaware of memory
memory
problems (later stages)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------May say, "I do not know" in
May 'confabulate' or make up
answer to questions which
answers to questions which
require thought or
require concentration or
concentration
good memory and appears
unaware that the answer is
incorrect
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shows fluctuating ability and Tends to show consistent,
uneven impairment on
global impairment on
cognitive testing
cognitive testing
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gives up easily, is poorly
Has a go
motivated and uninterested
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------May be slow but successful in Unsuccessful in carrying out
any complex task, aware of
tasks which require
errors
concentration, appears
unaware of errors
_____________________________________________________
Page 38 of 42
WMC001681
______________________________________________________
Illustration
2
Problem
Similarities to
Differences from
dementia
dementia
Similarities and differences between dementia and other physical and psychological problems (adapted from Thompson, 1997,
______________________________________________________
page
12)
Acute
confusional
state
Disorientation, poor Occurs rapidly,

concentration, self- worse at night;
neglect
disappears after
underlying causes
causes treated;
clouding of consciousness
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Depression
Poor concentration; Answers which
responsiveness
usually accurate
slowness; nonbut 'do not know'
responsiveness
is frequent
response
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Anxiety
Inability to carry out No confabulation;
day-to-day tasks
insight into
because of agitation, impaired
catastrophic reaction functioning; when
- total failure to cope stressors minimized, ability is as
normal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Paraphrenia
Misinterpretation of Some behaviour
actions and stateunimpaired, no
ments, self-neglect missing out of
steps in a task
even if reasoning
seems bizarre;
hallucinations
Page 39 of 42
WMC001681
Illustration 3
THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE SYSTEM

^
Adapted from Baddeley's (1992)
Working Memory Model^
^
^
^
^
VISUOSPATIAL
ARTICULATORY
SKETCHPAD
LOOP SYSTEM
^
^
^
^
^
^
THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE SYSTEM
Page 40 of 42
WMC001681
_________________________________________________________
Illustration
4
Intelligence Quotient
(IQ)
Classification
_________________________________________________________
Intelligence classifications (adapted from Wechsler, 1981)
130 and above
Very Superior
120 - 129
Superior
110 - 119
High Average
90 - 109
Average
80 - 89
Low Average
70 - 79
Borderline
69 and below
Mentally Retarded
_________________________________________________________
Page 41 of 42
WMC001681
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Article ID: WMC001681

Alzheimers Disease: Comprehensive Review of

Article ID: WMC001681

Published on: 04-Mar-2011, 02:06:32 PM GMT

Article URL: http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/1681

WebmedCentral > Review articles

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Alzheimers Disease: Comprehensive Review of

WebmedCentral > Review articles

advantages (Goldblum, Gomez & Dalla Barba, 1998),

Downloaded from http://www.webmedcentral.com on 10-Sep-2011, 10:31:08 AM

hence expectancies in ageing are perceived differently

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example, knowing how to drive a car is a procedural

Downloaded from http://www.webmedcentral.com on 10-Sep-2011, 10:31:08 AM

become more restless or agitated at the frustration of

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performance failures of older age (Moss & Patel, 1995;

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changes but many small strokes that cause death to

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disease patients has been thoroughly investigated and

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people. Some of these include paraphrenia, often

people choose to remember only certain details of an

It is now believed that there are four stages involved in

The definition of dementia generally accepted by

Retrieval is the process by which information is made

It is important for clinicians and therapists to

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1. Impairment of short-term and long-term memory;

6. Specific organic factor;

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of moderate to severe dementia has been estimated at

WebmedCentral > Review articles

disease was thought to be arteriosclerotic; however,

Downloaded from http://www.webmedcentral.com on 10-Sep-2011, 10:31:08 AM

Studies of individuals in the general population with

There are also the effects of the residential setting on

The third phase, the 'dementia phase', is characterized

In the first phase, the 'forgetfulness phase', there is

Environmental factors may have a role in triggering

Some researchers warn of the importance of

These drugs are now the main treatment of choice in

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The second recognised phase is known as the

Acetylcholine esterase inhibitors (ACI)

Downloaded from http://www.webmedcentral.com on 10-Sep-2011, 10:31:08 AM

al., 2008); Reminyl or Galantamide Hydrobromide

WebmedCentral > Review articles

dementia using any of these drugs for people with

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Hence, Merched and colleagues (1997) concludes that

WebmedCentral > Review articles

substantial evidence that shifting of attention is

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The CES has limited resources, hence the decline in

WebmedCentral > Review articles

extensively, there is evidence for significant

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