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A neuropsychological test battery for use in Alzheimer disease clinical trials
Harrison J, Minassian SL, Jenkins L, Black RS, Koller M, Grundman M.. Archives of neurology, 2007-09-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective To report the psychometric properties of an alternative instrument to the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, a neuropsychological test battery (NTB) for measuring drug efficacy in Alzheimer disease clinical trials. Design The NTB was evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of AN1792(QS-21) (synthetic beta-amyloid plus an adjuvant) (300 patients) and isotonic sodium chloride solution (72 patients). The test-retest reliability of the NTB was examined, and the NTB was correlated with other cognitive (cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale and Mini-Mental State Examination) and functional (Disability Assessment Scale for Dementia and Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes) measures. In addition, a factor analysis was performed on NTB components. Finally, the sensitivity of the NTB to change was assessed as a function of Mini-Mental State Examination performance. Results The NTB had high test-retest reliability at 6 (Pearson product moment correlation [r] = 0.92) and 12 (r = 0.88) months. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach alpha = 0.84). The correlations between the NTB z score and scores on traditional measures of cognition and function were significantly different from 0 (P Conclusions The NTB exhibits excellent psychometric properties and seems to be a reliable and sensitive measure of cognitive change in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease. The psychometric properties of the NTB suggest that it may have particular utility in evaluating drug efficacy in clinical trials in which patients with mild Alzheimer disease are included.
Key findings
- Results The NTB had high test-retest reliability at 6 (Pearson product moment correlation [r] = 0.92) and 12 (r = 0.88) months.
- The correlations between the NTB z score and scores on traditional measures of cognition and function were significantly different from 0 (P < .001).
- The psychometric properties of the NTB suggest that it may have particular utility in evaluating drug efficacy in clinical trials in which patients with mild Alzheimer disease are included.
Why it matters
This study reports on the psychometric properties of a neuropsychological test battery for measuring drug efficacy in Alzheimer's disease clinical trials. It is about a measurement tool, not a treatment, cure, or prevention for the disease.
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Study details
- Participants300
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 67/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on institution's track record, so that was left out: it earned 65 of the 97 points we could judge it on, which is 67 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Archives of Neurology: journal h-index 353 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2007 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 300 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 225 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.7 citations a year over 21 year(s) since 2007 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 21 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 32 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Michael Grundman: h-index 59 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 0 institution(s) in 0 countries — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17846273) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 65 / 97 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 65 of the 97 points we could judge it on is 67 out of 100. |
| Total | 67 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription Unpaywall, Europe PMC and OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 10 Oct 2026), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Harrison, J., Minassian, S. L., Jenkins, L., Black, R. S., Koller, M., & Grundman, M. (2007). A neuropsychological test battery for use in Alzheimer disease clinical trials. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.64.9.1323
Vancouver
Harrison J, Minassian SL, Jenkins L, Black RS, Koller M, Grundman M. A neuropsychological test battery for use in Alzheimer disease clinical trials. Archives of neurology. 2007. doi:10.1001/archneur.64.9.1323. PMID: 17846273.
BibTeX
@article{harrison2007-17846273,
author = {Harrison, J. and Minassian, S. L. and Jenkins, L. and Black, R. S. and Koller, M. and Grundman, M.},
title = {{A neuropsychological test battery for use in Alzheimer disease clinical trials}},
journal = {Archives of neurology},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1001/archneur.64.9.1323},
pmid = {17846273},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.64.9.1323}
}
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