S u m m a r y

 

Poutiainen E, Hokkanen L, Pulliainen V, Ylikoski R, Portin R, Hänninen T, Laine M, Kuikka P, Salo J, Winqvist S, Hietanen M & Erkinjuntti T (2003)

Neuropsychological examination in the study of cognitive impairment due to preclinical dementia

Psykologia 38:216-229. Vammala ISSN 0355-1067

 

Recent studies have shown that preclinical mild cognitive impairment due to progressive disease can already be detected by neuropsychological methods several years before a disease is diagnosable. The growing amount of elderly people as well as the development of new treatments makes the early detection of cognitive deficits important. The most common diseases causing progressive cognitive impairment are Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body disease, and, more rarely, fronto-temporal degenerations and some movement disorders. In a neuropsychological examination it is essential to determine whether the symptoms imply probable dementia due to a progressive disease or other underlying mechanisms such as focal brain disease or emotional distress. It is also important to characterize the quality of the functional deficit. These kinds of problems typically concern middle-aged or older persons, which creates special demands on the neuropsychological examination and the methods used. In this review experts in clinical neuropsychology stress the importance of an adequate neuropsychological examination and the use of methods found to be functional in detecting the early signs of cognitive impairment due to preclinical dementia.

 

Key words: Neuropsychological examination, preclinical dementia, mild cognitive impairment.

 

Erja Poutiainen, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Po.Box 9, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland