Abstract / Description of output
The aim of this project was to provide guidelines for harmonization and innovation of assessment tools to be applied to research in neurodegenerative dementias (NDD), with a special focus on longitudinal cohort studies.
A consensus was achieved on the general recommendations to be followed in developing procedures and tools for neuropsychological assessment. The context, the target population, the cognitive/behavioural variable to evaluate and the exact clinical questions to be answered, should be considered as the main preliminary aspects to address. Validity and reliability are two main psychometric properties that must be known before using a test. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive value are particularly important in the context of NDD, to define normal vs. abnormal conditions and for the purpose of differential diagnosis.
The working group particularly focused on unmet needs and provided specific recommendations on how to design studies that can provide empirical
evidence for selecting between methods for diagnosis and monitoring of NDD. These issues refer to the assessment of global functions, memory, language, visual-patial abilities, executive function, functional abilities, motor and behavioural symptoms. A central issue is represented by the lack of standardized norms for the tests to be used in the different European countries. Another important aspect is the need to improve knowledge about the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of the currently used tools. For each single domain a consensus was also achieved on the practical recommendations of the assessment tools.
A consensus was achieved on the general recommendations to be followed in developing procedures and tools for neuropsychological assessment. The context, the target population, the cognitive/behavioural variable to evaluate and the exact clinical questions to be answered, should be considered as the main preliminary aspects to address. Validity and reliability are two main psychometric properties that must be known before using a test. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive value are particularly important in the context of NDD, to define normal vs. abnormal conditions and for the purpose of differential diagnosis.
The working group particularly focused on unmet needs and provided specific recommendations on how to design studies that can provide empirical
evidence for selecting between methods for diagnosis and monitoring of NDD. These issues refer to the assessment of global functions, memory, language, visual-patial abilities, executive function, functional abilities, motor and behavioural symptoms. A central issue is represented by the lack of standardized norms for the tests to be used in the different European countries. Another important aspect is the need to improve knowledge about the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of the currently used tools. For each single domain a consensus was also achieved on the practical recommendations of the assessment tools.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research |
| Commissioning body | Neurodegenerative Disease Research - Joint Programme |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2015 |