My dh was tested by the VA yesterday and they used the SLUMS test instead of the MMSE test. Has anyone else had this experience? For you that do not know, the SLUMS test was developed by St. Louis University. The questions are similar on both test, but the scoring is different. My husband scored very low and that result equates to dementia. (As if that was news to me!!!). As far as I can find out the results do not give what degree or what stage of dementia.....if the stage can be determined by the testing and some one here knows how that is determined I would like to know. The person giving the test wouldn't tell me the score and just told me it was low.
The test was given so my dh would qualify for the VA to pay for his AD drugs. The VA here only pays if my dh is moderate....some even told me they had to be moderately severe. They have have been claiming he was mild and I have been fighting them for months on this issue. Now they say they will pay.
Thanks joan. I am also interested to know if anyone else has had this test for their spouse. I found the actual test this morning and I could remember the answers my dh gave or couldn't give and I figure he had a score of 15...which would be low.
Judith - the VA will pay for galantamine at mild stage. They will not pay for Namenda until they are listed as moderate. The reason is: the VA will not pay for a drug not FDA approved for the condition. Namenda is only FDA approved for moderate to severe AD. My hb's nuero pushed his to moderate to get the Namenda and then he did not like the side effects - they were not worth any benefit.
Thanks Charlotte. My dh's neuro has been saying for over 2 years that my dh was moderate, however, the gal that my husband was seeing at the VA before we moved said he was mild. She never gave him the complete MMSE test...she just gave him 4 or 5 questions. When he went for the long (2 hour) test he became very upset and they had to stop the test. They then declared he was mild. DUH... and when I complained they said he had to be moderate to severe. So...yesterday the new VA gal he sees gave him the SLUMs test and said his score was very low and she was sure he would be approved. I noticed on the Slums test that he could answer most questions that had ONE part to the question and required just one simple answer, i.e. pointing out a triangle or the State we live in, but he couldn't answer any of the questions that had more then one part or those that required remembering more then one thing.
I gave Sid the SLUMS this afternoon. He always scores between 27 and 29 on the MMSE, and we KNOW he's much worse off than that. He scored a 21 on the SLUMS. As is always the case, he aces anything to do with numbers and visuals. He was able to correctly answer all the number and visual questions on the SLUMS. It was more extensive in testing the language and memory than the MMSE, and that's where he slipped up. Except for the 4 hour complete evaluations, there doesn't seem to be a short test that measures where he is deficient.
I hear the SAGE is good to - better than the MMSE. Here is the link to it: http://www.sagetest.osu.edu/ you can download it from there. IT is similar but many believe a little better. You be the judge.
Last year (Oct 2009), my dw scored 7 on the SLUMS and 18 on the MMSE....I also earned my neurological testing degree by administering these complex and sophisticated tests. I have also learned how to count backwards by 7, also 8,9,5,4,and I am working on 1..... These tests are so meaningful that they should be required for anyone running for public office, especially for the president or senate. "Senator, can you count backwards from 100 by 7's??? Yes.....100 million, 93 million, 86 billion, 79 trillion, am I doing OK???
My wife, Audrey is in stage 6 (6e) if you really trust my opinion....Doctors say "some dementia", neurologists want to fuse neck vertebrae, my evaluation is stage 6d-e, neighbors say she is nuts and shy away, friends have caught the disease and now forgot us....and family understands, but still do not want to be around her....but my support team agrees that stage 6 (late) is about as good an evaluation than an expert neurologist....and far less expensive!! Her diagnosis (by me, my children and brother) was in 2004, but officially it was in 2009 with a PET scan....but I suspected it back in 1999.....And some doctors noticed her behavior as far as 1997, but were too polite to suggest eoad....they voted for "Menopause, and a neurotic female" Now the florida rats that we use for scientific research scored a 29 on the mmse test....the only problem they had was drawing the clock...they insisted that it was a mouse that ran up the clock. And the rats got a perfect score on the slums test!!!! When they were interviewed, they responded that they are accustomed to SLUMS, and were highly familiar with them....so it was not surprising that they scored so well...And the rats that had AD are completely cured after wearing cell phones for the last 10 months...By the way, it is much easier to diagnose AD in lab animals..... We have perfected a 100% accurate procedure for diagnosis...Now if we can do the same for humans, then a cure will be found...
Thanks phranque....not only for the information regarding your wife, but for a great laugh. I am beginning to wonder if my dog has Ad she seems to be forgetting that she is suppose to go outside to pee. Also, she seems to think she is a cat and loves a cat toy a friend gave her. I didn't have the heart to tell the friend it was a cat toy. Sorry, don't think I can give her any tests to get an official dx because she is too hyper and can't follow directions well.
Lab mice.....why is it so easy to diagnose laboratory mice with ad??? 1. They tend to wander 2. They cannot dress themselves 3. They are generally incontinent 4. Their vocabulary is limited to 1 word...squeek 5. They have repetitious behavior....they will run on the "wheel" for hours and hours. 6. They undergo clinical trials, and you still can't figure out if it is making them better. 7. They are unable to handle any finances at all. 8. They cannot remember that a mousetrap is dangerous...they forget that the cheese they grab will set off the spring loaded trap. 9. They are highly alergic to the glue on the glue traps....it seems to be fatal to them. 10. Serious difficulties concentrating, particularly around people or cats. 11. Inability to prepare meals for guests. 12. Unable to recall the date and time of events 13. Some mice also exhibit the symptoms of ad without actually having the disease.