Two original Czech tests for memory evaluation in three minutes - Amnesia Light and Brief Assessment (ALBA)
Abstract
Aim: Memory impairment can accompany various brain disorders. An original Czech test was developed for their easy detection in clinical settings and is based on recall combination of one short sentence and six gestures.
Patients and methods: The new Amnesia Light and Brief Assessment (ALBA) test consists of a one-time encoding of a six-word sentence "Indian summer brings the first morning frost.", sequential demonstration of six gestures and their immediate recall in any order (TEGEST) and finally recall of as many correct words as possible of the original sentence. Two groups of 62 patients with mild cognitive impairment and 62 sociodemographically-paired elderly controls were examined using a combination of both subtests.
Results: In comparison to the control individuals (Montreal Cognitive Assessment 28 points, IQR = 26-29), patients with mild cognitive impairment (the Mini Mental State Examination median score 24 points, IQR = 22 -27) recalled significantly fewer words of the sentence (median 1 vs. 5 words), gestures (3 vs. 4 gestures) and had a lower sum of correctly recalled gestures and words (3 vs. 9) (for all differences P < 0.00001). The optimum cut-off score was s 3 correctly recalled words of the sentence (sensitivity [Se] 89%, specificity [Sp] 77%, area under the receiver operating characteristic [AUC] 0.89), <= 3 correctly recalled gestures in TEGEST (Se 77%, Sp 89%, AUC 0.88) ands <= 7 for their ALBA sum (Se 90%, Sp 74%, AUC 0.92).
Conclusion: The innovative ALBA is a three-minute easy-to-use test that can signal memory deficits using recall of <= 3 gestures, <= 3 words, or sum of <= 7 correctly recalled words and gestures.