
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 30, 1994                   TAG: 9409020027
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                 LENGTH: Medium

TESTS IDENTIFY PEOPLE AT RISK OF ALZHEIMER'S, SIMILAR ILLNESS

Elderly people can learn if they're at high risk of getting Alzheimer's or a similar disease within a few years by taking a series of standard psychological tests, scientists say.

The tests, given to outwardly healthy people, identified one group with an 85-percent rate of developing intellect-robbing dementia within four years and another group who went on to get dementia at only a 5-percent rate over that time.

That means the tests can distinguish between those who should get a more detailed evaluation and make plans for their future care, and those who can be reassured they have little short-term risk, said the study's lead author, Dr. David Masur.

``If you score well on these tests, we can confidently say that over the next four years you probably won't be getting dementia,'' he said.

Dementia basically refers to significant declines in intellectual abilities such as memory and reasoning. Alzheimer's disease is the most common kind of dementia.

Masur is an associate clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He and colleagues present the study in the August issue of the journal Neurology.

While other scientists are doing similar work, Masur's result ``is probably the best in terms of predictive value so far,'' said Dr. Leonard Berg, chairman of the Alzheimer's Association Medical and Scientific Advisory Board.

``It's good work, and it's important work,'' said Berg, a neurologist who directs the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Masur and Berg called the tests useful for people in their 70s and 80s who are generally healthy and free of multiple medications that could impair their performance on the tests.

The tests are given by neuro-psychologists and should not be taken at home, Masur said. He said people who want to take the tests should discuss a referral to a neuropsychologist with their physician.

Most dementia is not curable, but early warning that it may be coming allows a person to plan for future care and get financial matters in order, Masur said.

by CNB