Home › Research › Treatments
Semantic Memory in the Clinical Progression of Alzheimer Disease
Tchakoute CT, Sainani KL, Henderson VW, Raloxifene in Alzheimer’s Disease Investigators.. Cognitive and behavioral neurology : official journal of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, 2017-09-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background and objective Semantic memory measures may be useful in tracking and predicting progression of Alzheimer disease. We investigated relationships among semantic memory tasks and their 1-year predictive value in women with Alzheimer disease. Methods We conducted secondary analyses of a randomized clinical trial of raloxifene in 42 women with late-onset mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease. We assessed semantic memory with tests of oral confrontation naming, category fluency, semantic recognition and semantic naming, and semantic density in written narrative discourse. We measured global cognition (Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale, cognitive subscale), dementia severity (Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes), and daily function (Activities of Daily Living Inventory) at baseline and 1 year. Results At baseline and 1 year, most semantic memory scores correlated highly or moderately with each other and with global cognition, dementia severity, and daily function. Semantic memory task performance at 1 year had worsened one-third to one-half standard deviation. Factor analysis of baseline test scores distinguished processes in semantic and lexical retrieval (semantic recognition, semantic naming, confrontation naming) from processes in lexical search (semantic density, category fluency). The semantic-lexical retrieval factor predicted global cognition at 1 year. Considered separately, baseline confrontation naming and category fluency predicted dementia severity, while semantic recognition and a composite of semantic recognition and semantic naming predicted global cognition. No individual semantic memory test predicted daily function. Conclusions Semantic-lexical retrieval and lexical search may represent distinct aspects of semantic memory. Semantic memory processes are sensitive to cognitive decline and dementia severity in Alzheimer disease.
Key findings
- Results At baseline and 1 year, most semantic memory scores correlated highly or moderately with each other and with global cognition, dementia severity, and daily function.
Why it matters
In 42 women with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease, semantic memory scores were linked to global cognition, dementia severity, and daily function, and one factor predicted global cognition a year later. This suggests certain semantic memory tests may help track disease progression, though the analysis was small and secondary.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Treatments →
Study details
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 55/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Cognitive and behavioral neurology : official journal of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology: journal h-index 66 (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 | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| 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 | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 19 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.7 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.8× 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 5 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Victor W. Henderson: h-index 79 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Stanford University: institution h-index 2,684 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28926415) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1097/wnn.0000000000000131
- PubMed: 28926415
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
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
Tchakoute, C. T., Sainani, K. L., Henderson, V. W., & Raloxifene in Alzheimer’s Disease Investigators. (2017). Semantic Memory in the Clinical Progression of Alzheimer Disease. Cognitive and behavioral neurology : official journal of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1097/wnn.0000000000000131
Vancouver
Tchakoute CT, Sainani KL, Henderson VW, Raloxifene in Alzheimer’s Disease Investigators. Semantic Memory in the Clinical Progression of Alzheimer Disease. Cognitive and behavioral neurology : official journal of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology. 2017. doi:10.1097/wnn.0000000000000131. PMID: 28926415.
BibTeX
@article{tchakoute2017-28926415,
author = {Tchakoute, C. T. and Sainani, K. L. and Henderson, V. W. and {Raloxifene in Alzheimer’s Disease Investigators}},
title = {{Semantic Memory in the Clinical Progression of Alzheimer Disease}},
journal = {Cognitive and behavioral neurology : official journal of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1097/wnn.0000000000000131},
pmid = {28926415},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/wnn.0000000000000131}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Related studies in Treatments
Also in Treatments
166 studies in the library are filed under Treatments with no topic tag they share with another; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed tour of them. The Treatments hub.