Using short-term memory measures to assess long-term memory in early-stage Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) impairs long-term memory of both verbal and visual information. While these impairments have been studied extensively at traditional short-term delays of 20-35 minutes, they have not been explored at long-term delays. In the current study, long-term delays of 1 day and 7 days were introduced to traditional short-term memory measures. 60 Participants were recruited for the study including; 20 individuals with Early AD, 20 individuals at risk for AD, and 20 age matched healthy controls. During an initial visit Participants were administered a self-evaluation questionnaire, the Mini Mental Status Exam, the Alzheimer’s disease Caregiver Questionnaire, 2 subtests from the Wide Range Assessment of Memory Learning, 2 Edition (WRAML2: Story Memory and Verbal Learning subtests), the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4 Edition (Information subtest), and Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT). 1-day and 1-week later, Participants were administered the WRAML2 subtests and ROCFT as an assessment of long-term memory. Using STM Measures to Assess LTM in Early AD iv Early AD Participants performed significantly poorer at the 1-day interval than both the healthy control group and at-risk group, while performance at the 7-day interval showed less variation across groups. This pattern was evident across all measures administered, except the self-evaluation questionnaire. Results indicate adding a 1-day interval for assessment of longterm memory using a word list task (WRAML2 Verbal Learning subtest) to a clinical AD screening provides increased diagnostic sensitivity to detect impairment of Early AD individuals. Using STM Measures to Assess LTM in Early AD v Table of