Tele-Neuropsychological Assessment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Background: Because of the new pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the demand for telemedicine and telemonitoring solutions has been exponentially raised. Because of its special advantage to treat patients in an emergency without physical presence at a hospital via video conferencing, telemedicine has been used to overcome distance barriers and to improve access to special domains like neurology. In these pandemic times, telemedicine has been also employed as a support for the diagnosis and treatment of adult-onset dementia disorders including Alzheimer’s disease. Objective: In this study, we carried out a systematic literature analysis to clarify if the neuropsychological tests traditionally employed in face-to-face (FTF) contexts are reliable via telemedicine. Methods: A systematic literature search for the past 20 years (2001–2020) was carried out through the medical databases PubMed (Medline) and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). The quality assessment was conducted by adopting the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) and only studies with a NOS ≥ 7 were included in this review. Results: The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) results do not differ when tests are administered in the traditional FTF modality or by videoconference, and only negligible minor changes in the scoring system were noticeable. Other neuropsychological tests used to support the diagnosis of AD and dementia such as the Token Test, the Comprehension of Words and Phrases (ACWP), the Controlled Oral Word Association Test showed high reliability between the two modalities considered. No differences in the reliability concerning the living setting or education of the subjects were reported. Conclusions: The MMSE, which is the main screening test for dementia, can be administered via telemedicine with minor adaptation in the scoring system. Telemedicine use for other neuropsychological tests also resulted in general reliability and enough accuracy. Cognitive assessment by videoconference is accepted and appreciated and therefore can be used for dementia diagnosis in case of difficulties to performing FTF assessments. This approach can be useful given a personalized medicine approach for the treatment of adult-onset dementia disorders.

45 Years of the mini-mental state examination (MMSE): A perspective from ibero-america

“…An adaptation of the test given by telephone has even been created 4 . Recently, its performance as a tele-neuropsychological test was evaluated and indicated that there are no substantial differences when applied traditionally or remotely 5 .…”

“…As noted, there have been several translations and adaptations of the instrument to various national contexts, and in several cases, different versions can be found, some validated and others not validated, as is the case with the Spanish-language versions for Latin America and Spain. This situation has made it difficult to compare the results of this instrument 5 . Comparisons can Dement Neuropsychol also be difficult due to cultural differences, for example, between applications in Spanish-speaking Latin America and Spanish-speaking communities in the United States 15,16 .…”

Mental health sequelae of bone cancer: A narrative review

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic digital psychosocial interventions can be implemented and assessed. Telehealth has already been used to perform neuropsychological tests and monitor patients with dementia, who did not have access to physical healthcare facilities due to COVID-19 restrictions (Carotenuto, Traini, Fasanaro, Battineni, Amenta, 2021). Moreover, the impact of amputations and other forms of treatment, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, should be assessed in the mental wellbeing of specific vulnerable patients' groups such as children and refugees.…”

Artificial Intelligence Models in the Diagnosis of Adult-Onset Dementia Disorders: A Review

“…Studies have demonstrated the importance of early diagnostics, pharmacological interventions, lifestyle changes, and decreasing cardiovascular risk factors in suppressing the progression of the disease [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Therefore, it is imperative to diagnose clinical conditions that can potentially progress into dementia as early as possible [ 21 , 22 ].…”