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Measurement of severity in advanced Alzheimer's disease
Volicer L, Hurley AC, Lathi DC, Kowall NW.. Journal of gerontology, 1994-09-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background In late stages of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), most scales measuring only cognitive or functional deficits lose their sensitivity to detect further disease progression. Methods By combining ratings of cognitive (speech, eye contact) and functional deficits (dressing, eating, ambulation) with occurrence of pathological symptoms (sleep-wake cycle disturbance, muscle rigidity/contractures), a scale was developed (BANS-S) which does not lose its sensitivity until the patient reaches a vegetative state. BANS-S was tested on three Special Care Dementia Units. Results Data from 74 patients with the clinical diagnosis of DAT indicated that BANS-S has good reliability and reproducibility. BANS-S scores correlated with scores of Mini-Mental State Examination, Katz ADL, Test for Severe Impairment, and Language Assessment. In 25 patients with the diagnosis of DAT confirmed by autopsy, BANS-S scores determined within 3 months of death correlated with density of neurofibrillary tangles in CA2 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus. Conclusion BANS-S may be a useful tool for the evaluation of different treatment strategies in severe DAT and for the correlation of clinical and pathological findings.
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APA 7th
Volicer, L., Hurley, A. C., Lathi, D. C., & Kowall, N. W. (1994). Measurement of severity in advanced Alzheimer's disease. Journal of gerontology. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/49.5.m223
Vancouver
Volicer L, Hurley AC, Lathi DC, Kowall NW. Measurement of severity in advanced Alzheimer's disease. Journal of gerontology. 1994. doi:10.1093/geronj/49.5.m223. PMID: 8056941.
BibTeX
@article{volicer1994-8056941,
author = {Volicer, L. and Hurley, A. C. and Lathi, D. C. and Kowall, N. W.},
title = {{Measurement of severity in advanced Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Journal of gerontology},
year = {1994},
doi = {10.1093/geronj/49.5.m223},
pmid = {8056941},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/49.5.m223}
}
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Key findings
- Results Data from 74 patients with the clinical diagnosis of DAT indicated that BANS-S has good reliability and reproducibility.
Why it matters
A new scale (BANS-S) was developed to measure severity in advanced Alzheimer's disease when other scales lose sensitivity, and its scores correlated with brain pathology after death. This is a measurement tool for evaluating treatments in severe disease, not a treatment itself.
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Study details
- Participants74
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of gerontology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Gerontology: journal h-index 216 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| 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 | 1994 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 74 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) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 185 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.4 citations a year over 34 year(s) since 1994 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 10 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 11 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Neil W. Kowall: h-index 107 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital: institution h-index 294 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 8056941) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
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