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NIH supports researchers who are developing tests to detect cognitive changes . Recent progress includes tools that are inexpensive, easy to use in the community, and culturally appropriate .
Expanding the NIH Toolbox: The NIH Toolbox for the Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function is a brief but comprehensive assessment tool — available in English and Spanish — to screen for a decline in cognitive health. To date, more than 200 clinical studies are using the NIH Toolbox, and more than 250 peer-reviewed articles have been published.
The NIH-supported Advancing Reliable Measurement in Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Aging study is investigating the use of the NIH Toolbox measures for people with Alzheimer’s. Through this effort, researchers are expanding the toolbox so that it will be valid to use with ethnically and racially diverse adults and adults 86 and older.
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Enrolling diverse participants in the DetectCID consortium: There is an urgent need to provide caregivers in primary care settings with better ways to easily, quickly, and accurately determine whether people have cognitive impairment and dementia.
Through the NIH-supported national Consortium for Detecting Cognitive Impairment, Including Dementia (DetectCID) , researchers are developing, testing, and validating cognitive impairment detection tools that can be used by general practitioners to provide follow-up recommendations for the patient.
With trials now in Phase 2, scientists are enrolling a larger number of research participants, with at least 50% from racial and ethnic minority groups.
Assessing the usefulness of a combination of tests: Researchers recently reported the development and validation of a combination of tests to assess mild cognitive impairment. The tests — which are being used in the NIH-sponsored EXERT clinical trial of exercise — measure thinking skills such as planning, working memory, time management, and organization.
Analyzing financial skills: Another method under development for detecting signs of cognitive decline is monitoring financial data , financial decision-making capacity, and susceptibility to financial exploitation. People with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias may start having trouble handling money and paying bills years before diagnosis, according to a recent NIH-funded study.
Interpreting writing samples: Analyzing writing for certain patterns of language is another method under development for predicting a future Alzheimer’s diagnosis in people who are cognitively normal. Researchers found that short and simple phrases, repeated words, spelling errors, and missing punctuation were associated with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s several years later.