Community Memory Screening for Alzheimer's Research
A strategy for recruiting older adults into Alzheimer's disease research
Due to ongoing growth in the awareness of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a group of AD researchers, including ATRI’s Dr. Cecily Jenkins, collaborated to examine the efficacy of Periodic Memory Screening Day (PMSD) events in providing quick screening for cognitive decline and memory loss in a large community of individuals aged 65 or older. PMSD events provide free, brief cognitive screening aimed at those individuals and can serve as an opportunity to gauge participants' attitudes towards AD research and recruit them into ongoing research projects.
Methods
Methods for community memory screening include the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and a story recall task (immediate and delayed). The 10-minute MoCA was used to evaluate participant attention, concentration, executive functions, memory, language, visual constructional skills, conceptual thinking, calculations and orientation.
Over six single-day events in two years, more than 574 individuals were screened using these methods, given feedback about their performance, and introduced to AD research and opportunities to participate.
Results
The results of the screening were classified into three categories: 52% of individuals were classified as having "No Decline" in cognitive function, 34% as "Possible decline," and 14% as "Likely decline." Those with "Likely decline" were older and less educated, had more memory concerns, were more likely to be men, and were less likely to have a positive family history of dementia than those with "No Decline."
Subsequent validation of screening procedures against a full clinical evaluation showed 72% classification accuracy with a skew towards over-calling Possible and Likely decline and thereby guiding questionable individuals to a more thorough evaluation. Of those screened, 66% agreed to additional research and consented to being listed in a research registry, and a majority (70-85%) of those consenting reported they were amenable to various AD research procedures including lumbar puncture, MRI, and autopsy. Overall, 19.1% of those screened met inclusion criteria for ongoing studies and were successfully recruited into AD research.
Conclusions
It is important to note that early detection and treatment of Alzheimer's disease is crucial for the well-being of individuals and their families. Early detection is essential for the development of effective therapeutics for the disease. Hosting a few brief community memory screening events each year can have a significant impact on meeting the memory assessment needs of aging communities concerned about potential memory impairment.
Community memory screening is a vital tool in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. It provides an opportunity for individuals to have their cognitive abilities assessed, and for researchers to identify individuals who may be at risk for AD and recruit them into research studies. This is essential for the development of new treatments and therapies, and for the well-being of individuals and their families affected by the disease. It is important to continue to conduct community memory screening events in the future.
If you want to learn more:
Read the full paper on PubMed to learn more about community memory screening.