Performance on the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test in Alzheimer diseaseand vascular dementia

Background: Alzheimer disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are the two most common age-associated dementias. Neuropsychologic studies have demonst rated visuoconstructional impairment in AD and in VaD. Objective: This stud y used the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure to assess and compare specific asp ects of visuoconstructional deficits in patients with AD, patients with VaD , and normal age-matched subjects. Method: Thirteen normal controls, 20 pat ients with AD, and 20 patients with VaD were given a neuropsychologic batte ry as part of a comprehensive evaluation for dementia. The groups were simi lar in age and education, and the VaD and AD groups had comparable levels o f dementia. Based on their previous research on visual deficits in AD, the authors devised a new scoring system that divided the Rey-Osterrieth Comple x Figure into six perceptual categories: right, left, upper, lower, basic g estalt, and inner detail. Results: Patients with AD and patients with VaD h ad significant deficits in all six Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure scoring ca tegories compared with normal controls. Patients with AD exhibited a patter n of deficits similar to that of patients with VaD, with one significant ex ception: The patients with AD had increased left-sided errors or inattentio n. Conclusions: These results suggest that left hemispatial inattention con tributes to impaired performance on visuoconstructional tasks in AD.