COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - WHAT DOES THE CAMCOG ASSESS

The CAMDEX (Cambridge Mental Disorders of the Elderly Examination) is a widely used instrument for the diagnosis of dementia. It contains a cognitive section (CAMCOG) which consists of 60 items grouped into eig ht a priori subscales (orientation, language, memory, praxis, attentio n, abstract thinking, perception and calculation). A principal compone nt analysis was performed on CAMCOG data from 191 patients with probab le Alzheimer's disease (mild to moderate dementia). The analysis ident ified four factors which were interpreted clinically as representing l anguage/praxis, visuoconstructive abilities, remote memory and short-t erm memory. These factors differed in number and in composition from t he a priori subscales postulated by the developers of the instrument. The results of the principal component analysis of empirical CAMCOG da ta demonstrate an overlap and potentiation of different cognitive defi cits in AD.