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Dementia: a systematic approach to identifying reversible causes
Reisberg B.. Geriatrics, 1986-04-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The development of FAST is of great importance to clinicians in identifying possibly remediable complications of Alzheimer's disease and distinguishing them from the characteristic progression of the illness. Premature loss of speech in an otherwise uncomplicated Alzheimer's-type presentation should lead the clinician to strongly suspect focal cerebral pathology, especially cerebral infarction.
Key findings
- The development of FAST is of great importance to clinicians in identifying possibly remediable complications of Alzheimer's disease and distinguishing them from the characteristic progression of the illness.
- Premature loss of speech in an otherwise uncomplicated Alzheimer's-type presentation should lead the clinician to strongly suspect focal cerebral pathology, especially cerebral infarction.
Why it matters
This article discusses using a clinical approach to identify possibly reversible complications of Alzheimer's disease and to suspect focal cerebral pathology when speech is lost prematurely. It addresses clinical identification of reversible causes, not curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease itself.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 41/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record and institution's track record, so those were left out: it earned 38 of the 93 points we could judge it on, which is 41 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Geriatrics) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1986 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 220 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.2 citations a year over 42 year(s) since 1986 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Barry Reisberg: h-index 86 (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 3949165) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 38 / 93 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 38 of the 93 points we could judge it on is 41 out of 100. |
| Total | 41 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), 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. This record has no DOI, so the citation leaves it out. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Reisberg, B. (1986). Dementia: a systematic approach to identifying reversible causes. Geriatrics.
Vancouver
Reisberg B. Dementia: a systematic approach to identifying reversible causes. Geriatrics. 1986. PMID: 3949165.
BibTeX
@article{reisberg1986-3949165,
author = {Reisberg, B.},
title = {{Dementia: a systematic approach to identifying reversible causes}},
journal = {Geriatrics},
year = {1986},
pmid = {3949165}
}
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