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Test Instructions (test + instructions)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	80%

Selected Abstracts

Effects of memantine on cognition in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease: post-hoc analyses of ADAS-cog and SIB total and single-item scores from six randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 5 2009
Patrizia Mecocci
Abstract Objectives The post-hoc analyses reported here evaluate the specific effects of memantine treatment on ADAS-cog single-items or SIB subscales for patients with moderate to severe AD. Methods Data from six multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, double-blind, 6-month studies were used as the basis for these post-hoc analyses. All patients with a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of less than 20 were included. Analyses of patients with moderate AD (MMSE: 10,19), evaluated with the Alzheimer's disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog) and analyses of patients with moderate to severe AD (MMSE: 3,14), evaluated using the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB), were performed separately. Results The mean change from baseline showed a significant benefit of memantine treatment on both the ADAS-cog (p,<,0.01) and the SIB (p,<,0.001) total score at study end. The ADAS-cog single-item analyses showed significant benefits of memantine treatment, compared to placebo, for mean change from baseline for commands (p,<,0.001), ideational praxis (p,<,0.05), orientation (p,<,0.01), comprehension (p,<,0.05), and remembering test instructions (p,<,0.05) for observed cases (OC). The SIB subscale analyses showed significant benefits of memantine, compared to placebo, for mean change from baseline for language (p,<,0.05), memory (p,<,0.05), orientation (p,<,0.01), praxis (p,<,0.001), and visuospatial ability (p,<,0.01) for OC. Conclusion Memantine shows significant benefits on overall cognitive abilities as well as on specific key cognitive domains for patients with moderate to severe AD. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The Mallett Fixation Disparity Test: influence of test instructions and relationship with symptoms

OPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 5 2006
Rajula Karania
Abstract Fixation disparity is a minute ocular misalignment under conditions of binocular single vision and is typically detected in primary eye care practices in the UK using the Mallett Unit Fixation Disparity Test. This instrument creates natural viewing conditions, when the patient's binocular system is fused using both central and peripheral fusion locks. This allows the examiner to determine the minimum prism power that eliminates the fixation disparity: the associated phoria or aligning prism. The spherical power that eliminates the fixation disparity, the aligning sphere, can also be determined. The near Mallett Unit Fixation Disparity Test has been shown to have good sensitivity and specificity for detecting symptomatic heterophoria. Cases of decompensated heterophoria tend to have a fixation disparity and the aligning prism or aligning sphere is a good indicator of the correction that will render the heterophoria compensated. The purpose of this study was, for the first time, to investigate the effect of test instructions on the results of the Mallett Unit Fixation Disparity Test. In study 1, we surveyed and observed practitioners to determine the instructions that are typically used. In study 2, we compared results obtained with this ,standard' method of questioning with a more ,specific' form of questioning that has been suggested in the literature. The participants for study 2 were 105 patients aged 7,70 years who were randomly selected from those attending a community optometric practice. Significantly different results were obtained with the two sets of instructions. The specific form of questioning revealed more cases of fixation disparity and the results with this method showed a better correlation with symptoms. This only held for near vision: for distance vision, symptoms were not significantly correlated with the presence of fixation disparity. This agrees with previous work with the Mallett unit, which showed a significant relationship with symptoms only at near. We also found that patients with more severe symptoms had greater degrees of aligning prism. Our study supports previous work indicating that the Mallett unit is a useful tool for detecting symptomatic heterophoria at near. However, we found that the testing method is important: patients need to be asked not just whether the nonius strips are aligned but also whether one or both of the strips ever moves. More research is needed to investigate the significance of precise test instructions in other optometric and orthoptic tests. [source]

Deterring malingered psychopathology: The effect of warning simulating malingerers

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 1 2009
Joanne King BPsych. (Hons.)
The utility of a warning to deter malingering on measures of personality and psychopathology was examined. Sixty-seven first year psychology students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: unwarned malingerers, warned malingerers, and controls. Participants in the two malingering groups were given a financial incentive to simulate believable psychological impairment. Warned malingerers received an additional warning that the tests could detect malingering and that detection would result in loss of course credit. Controls received standardized test instructions. It was hypothesized that the malingering incentive would be sufficient to induce malingering, but that a deterrence theory warning would have a subsequent deterrent effect. Between-groups analyses indicated that the warning used in this study significantly altered test performance on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and revised Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90-R). Warned malingerers scored significantly lower (faked less) than unwarned malingerers on the majority of the psychopathology scales and frequently approximated control group performances. These results support the effectiveness of a warning to complement existing malingering detection methods. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]