EGb 761, 240 mg once-daily, was found significantly superior to placebo in the treatment of patients with dementia with neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Psychometric characteristics of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) were examined on the basis of data from 440 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type that were collected before treatment in a multicenter clinical drug trial. Coefficients of internal consistency of above .SO for the cognitive (ADAS-Cog) and the noncognitive section (ADAS-Noncog) indicated a high degree of homogeneity of item contents within the two assessment domains. Test-retest reliability was estimated to be .93, .98, and .96 for ADAS-Cog, ADAS-Noncog, and the total score (ADAS-Total), respectively. Reliably detectable individual changes, which were derived from the reliability estimates, were 7,3, and 8 points for ADAS-Cog, ADAS-Noncog, and ADAS-Total, in that order. Factor analysis and correlations with MMSE, SKT, and NOSGER scores support the validity of the ADAS-Cog and ADAS-Noncog scores with regard to the cognitive and thenoncognitiveassessment domains. The ADASsummary scores, almost all of the cognitive items, and someof the noncognitive items discriminated significantly between stages of severity of dementia, as classified independently by MMSE and SKT scores.The Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS; Rosen et al., 1984) was designed specifically to evaluate the severity of cognitive and noncognitive symptoms in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). The scale con-

IntroductionThe present review of Alzheimer's disease (AD) rating scales aims to outline the need for a new rating scale to be used in routine clinical practice for long-term medical care of AD patients. An ideal scale would be: 1) practical, easy and quick to administer for an experienced clinician; 2) validated for AD; 3) multi-domain: covering the AD-relevant areas of cognition, activities of daily living, behavior, communication/social interaction, and quality of life; 4) applicable to all AD severity stages; 5) able to monitor disease progression; and 6) sensitive to measure therapy effects.MethodsThe National Library of Medicines' MEDLINE database was searched for the years 1981 to September 2008, using a set of keywords aiming to select instruments which cover at least some of the requirements for an ideal practical AD scale for therapy evaluation. Measures for AD staging and screening tests were not considered for review.ResultsOf 1,902 articles resulting from the literature search, 68 relevant AD scales were identified. Most of them were scales that predominantly measure the severity of major dysfunctions in particular AD domains. Only five scales met some of the requirements for a practical multi-domain AD scale, but did not possess all required characteristics.ConclusionsDespite the multitude of AD scales for various purposes, there remains a need for a new multi-domain and easy to administer AD scale for assessment of disease progression and response to therapy in daily medical practice.