A new rating instrument, the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, was
designed specifically to evaluate the severity of cognitive and
noncognitive behavioral dysfunctions characteristic of persons with
Alzheimer's disease. Item descriptions, administration procedures, and
scoring are outlined. Twenty-seven subjects with Alzheimer's disease and 28
normal elderly subjects were rated on 40 items. Twenty-one items with
significant intraclass correlation coefficients for interrater reliability
(range, .650-.989) and significant Spearman rank-order correlation
coefficients for test-retest reliability (range, .514-1) constitute the
final scale. Subjects with Alzheimer's disease had significantly more
cognitive and noncognitive dysfunction than the normal elderly
subjects.
Abstract Teaser