Objective: Severely demented patients usually cannot be assessed with the conventional neuropsychological tests. SIB was developed for evaluating remaining cognitive functions in late stages of dementia. The goal of our study was to assess elderly patients with early, moderate and severe dementia by means of the SIB and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE).
Design: Prospective study.
Materials and Methods: Forty-two geriatric patients (>65 y.o.), 13 m and 29 f, who met the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th ed. (DSM IV) for dementia, were selected. The mean age of the patients was 78±6 y.o. All patients were assessed with the SIB, which was translated into the Greek language, and MMSE two times. Patients were divided into three severity groups according to their MMSE score (A:24-18, B:17-12, C:11-0) and SIB score was compared between groups. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman tests and p<0.05 were considered significant.
Results: Demographical data of patients between groups and the mean values of SIB and MMSE between examinations, showed no significant different. Mean values and Standard Deviation of SIB is shown in the following table.
|
| 1st Exam | 2nd Exam | ||
| Groups | MMSE | SIB* | MMSE | SIB* |
| A (n=11) | 21.2±2.6 | 108.6±14.3 | 22.3±2.4 | 112,5±11.6 |
| B (n=21) | 14.5±1.9 | 95.2±13.0 | 14.8±1.3 | 91.8±11.0 |
| C (n=10) | 8.3±1.8 | 46.0±4.1 | 7.8±1.6 | 43.7±4.2 |
(*p<0.01)
Correlation of SIB and MMSE was significant only in A group (r=0.54, p<0.05).
Conclusion: The above results demonstrate that SIB can differentiate the patients in moderate and severe dementia, whereas MMSE does not, showing the floor effect. Our data indicates that SIB was a reliable and useful neuropsychological test to evaluate Greek patients in late stage dementia.
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