A new approach to screening senior citizens for signs of cognitive problems, which could be early indicators of conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's disease, has been piloted by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. The test, which can be completed alone with only a pen and a free test form, analyses the subject's thinking in a number of key areas, including their memory, their language skills, their spatial orientation skills, their computation skills and their problem solving skills, as well as doing basic orientation tests (do they know the date and the current year, for example).
While the test cannot definitively diagnose a condition like Alzheimer's, it will flag cognitive problems in around 80% of people who have them, whereas 95% of people who do not have them will test negative, making it a reasonably effective home testing tool. Those who test positive for cognitive problems are advised to take their test with them to their doctor to discuss their results, and allow for further supervised testing and diagnosis.
Treatment for many cognitive problems in elderly people is vastly more effective when issues are caught early, and it is thought that this test, known as the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE), could help this happen for more and more senior citizens. The fact that it is done at home with
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