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[Neuropsychological tests of simple application for diagnosing dementia]
Nitrini R, Lefèvre BH, Mathias SC, Caramelli P, Carrilho PE, Sauaia N, Massad E, Takiguti C et al.. Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria, 1994-12-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Thirty patients with dementia defined by DSM-III-R criteria (Alzheimer's disease (22), vascular dementia (3), Parkinson's disease, frontal lobe dementia, possible diffuse Lewy body dementia, normal pressure hydrocephalus and uncertain diagnosis), with scores below 24 points in the Mini-Mental Status Examination and more than 4 years of education were submitted to a neuropsychological evaluation. The scores in the neuropsychological tests were compared to those obtained by thirty normal volunteers paired for age, sex and education. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the tests in the distinction of demented and normal volunteers were determined.
Key findings
- The scores in the neuropsychological tests were compared to those obtained by thirty normal volunteers paired for age, sex and education.
- Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the tests in the distinction of demented and normal volunteers were determined.
- The accuracies were calculated using ROC curves.
- Blessed's information-memory-concentration test showed greatest accuracy, followed by copy of simple figures, delayed memory of 10 figures (after 5 minutes), recognition of 10 figures and verbal fluency test (animals).
Why it matters
This study compared neuropsychological test scores of 30 patients with dementia to those of 30 normal volunteers to determine the tests' accuracy in distinguishing the two groups. It is about diagnosis and does not test any treatment, so it says nothing about curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 39/100
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.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria: journal h-index 82 (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 | 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 216 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.4 citations a year over 34 year(s) since 1994 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 21 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Milberto Scaff: h-index 31 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Universidade de São Paulo: institution h-index 936 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre 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 7611936) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 39 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x1994000400001
- PubMed: 7611936
- Original source →
- Free full text: Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Nitrini, R., Lefèvre, B. H., Mathias, S. C., Caramelli, P., Carrilho, P. E., Sauaia, N., et al. (1994). [Neuropsychological tests of simple application for diagnosing dementia]. Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0004-282x1994000400001
Vancouver
Nitrini R, Lefèvre BH, Mathias SC, Caramelli P, Carrilho PE, Sauaia N, et al. [Neuropsychological tests of simple application for diagnosing dementia]. Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria. 1994. doi:10.1590/s0004-282x1994000400001. PMID: 7611936.
BibTeX
@article{nitrini1994-7611936,
author = {Nitrini, R. and Lefèvre, B. H. and Mathias, S. C. and Caramelli, P. and Carrilho, P. E. and Sauaia, N. and Massad, E. and Takiguti, C. and others},
title = {{[Neuropsychological tests of simple application for diagnosing dementia]}},
journal = {Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria},
year = {1994},
doi = {10.1590/s0004-282x1994000400001},
pmid = {7611936},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1590/s0004-282x1994000400001}
}
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