The Psychological Corporation, a Harcourt Assessment company, has developed a test that makes it easier to detect the early onset of Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment and other dysfunctions of the brain's temporo-parietal lobes. Earlier detection is critical to getting proper medical care that could potentially reverse a patient's condition or slow the disease.

Unlike many Alzheimer's tests that probe general intellectual functions and memory abilities, the Alzheimer's Quick Test (AQT) uses rapid naming tasks, in which a patient is timed while naming colors, then shapes and then color and shape combinations. Most people can complete each of these tasks in less than one minute. Extended completion times may indicate a problem.

The AQT assesses cognitive abilities such as attention, processing speed, working memory and retrieval. Simple, yet powerful, the AQT can accurately identify diminished performance even when the clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's are minimal.

"Early detection and continuous monitoring of Alzheimer's disease are critically important as the population ages and as new drug therapies and other treatment options become available," said Aurelio Prifitera, president of The Psychological Corporation. "This new tool is a giant leap forward in screening for and diagnosing Alzheimer's and other temporo-parietal lobe disorders that will enable health care professionals, their patients and patients' families make informed decisions about medical intervention and care giving."

Because it is an oral test with highly familiar stimuli (colors and shapes), patients taking the AQT do not have to be able to read or write. Performance on the test is not affected by culture, education, gender or age and it can be administered virtually anywhere in the world in almost any language. Unlike some other Alzheimer's diagnostic tests, the AQT is neither invasive nor demeaning to the patient.

Taking less than five minutes to administer and score, the AQT is quicker and more objective than some other screening tests and does not require medical or clinical professionals to administer. However, a professional must interpret the results to determine what treatments or other options are best for the patient.

The AQT provides consistent, stable results over time and can be repeated as frequently as necessary to track the patient's condition and monitor the effects of medication.

A wide range of health care professionals can use the AQT: physicians, such as neurologists, general practitioners and gerontologists; psychologists, including neuropsychologists; pharmaceutical manufacturers, for use in clinical trials; other allied health professionals, including speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists; nursing homes and long-term care facilities; and public health programs.

The European Alzheimer Disease Consortium Cognitive Task Force recently accepted the Alzheimer's Quick Test as part of the protocol for two studies now underway in the European Union.

One of these studies, the Development of Screening Guidelines and Clinical Criteria of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease (DESCRIPA), will focus on 1,100 individuals with mild cognitive impairment. The findings from the DESCRIPA study will lead to the development of European guidelines for the clinical evaluation of patients with MCI.