American doctors have developed a simple test consisting of just six questions by which you can determine whether a person faces the risk of developing dementia. The earlier this terrible disease is discovered, the higher the chances of delaying its development will be.
Alzheimer’s disease and other kinds of dementia are still a progressive incurable disease, slowly depriving a person of memory and control over the body. The disease affects mainly elderly people, and with the increase in life expectancy the problem of dementia is constantly growing too.
Experts expect that in the next 35 years the number of victims of the disease will double. In medicine there are no drugs that effectively suppress the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, although each year other clinical studies are conducted in the world. There are only a few ways to slow down the progression of the disease, but their use is necessary to start as soon as possible.
This is why it is important to diagnose the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in the early stages. American experts use a simple test, which consists of 6 questions.
- What year is it? (0 – for the correct answer, 4 – for the false answer)
- What month is it? (0 – for a correct answer, 3 – for the wrong one). At this stage, the test person is asked to remember the name and address, consisting of 5 words.
- Without looking at the clock, say where exactly the time passes (0 – for a correct answer, 3 – for the wrong one)
- Count down from 20 to 1. (0 – is for the correct answer, 2 – for making a mistake, 4 – if the false answer is repeated a few times).
- List the months of the year in reverse order. (0 – for the correct answer, 2) for the mistake, 4) if there are more mistakes.
- Provide the name and address that you received earlier. (0 – for the correct answer, 2 – for 1 error, 4 – if there are 2 mistakes, 6 – for 3 mistakes, 8 – for 4, and 10 – for making 5 mistakes)
The Result
From 0 to 7, there is no sign of memory problems. From 8 to 9 – there are some signs of problems with memory. You need to see a doctor. From 10 to 28 – clear signs of memory impairment requiring diagnosis.
