Diagnostic utility of the Japanese version of Test Your Memory (TYM-J1) for Alzheimer disease*
In 2009, a self-administered cognitive test, Test Your Memory (TYM), was developed as a screening test for the detection of Alzheimer disease (AD) in UK. A TYM score of .42/50 was reported to have a sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 86% in the diagnosis of AD. We evaluated the diagnostic utility of the Japanese version of TYM; i.e., TYM-J, in the detection of AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and compared its effectiveness with that of the conventional Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Hasegawa's Dementia Scale- Revised (HDS-R). Between March 2010 and July 2011, outpatients who visited our memory clinic with complaints of forgetfulness were enrolled in this study and diagnosed with AD or MCI on the basis of MMSE and HDS-R scores as well as findings of brain magnetic resonance imaging and N-isopropyl-[123I]-p-iodoamphetamine (IMP) brain scanning (159 with AD, 128 with MCI, and 47 normal controls). The average total TYM-J score was significantly lower in the AD (32.10) and MCI groups (39.80) than in the normal controls (44.21). In addition, the TYM-J score in each group exhibited a significant positive correlation with MMSE and HDS-R scores. In contrast to the first report from UK, the duration of education was positively associated with the TYM-J score. A TYM-J score of .42/50 had a sensitivity of 81.5% and specificity of 72.3% in the diagnosis of AD as well as MCI. These findings indicate that TYM-J could become a convenient and useful self-screening test for the diagnosis of AD and MCI in Japan. (Accepted on August 22, 2011)
