Since Alzheimer’s attacks the brain, the major visible changes to a person descending into Alzheimer’s are changes in behavior. So it is certainly no surprise that in general, the people who can most knowledgeably speak to a person’s behavioral changes are that person’s family and friends. Because of this, the “AD8, A brief informant interview to detect dementia” was developed at Washington University for use in interviewing family and friends. It contains eight yes-no questions dealing with issues such as:
Less interest in hobbies/activities
Trouble handling complicated financial affairs (e.g., balancing checkbook, income taxes, paying bills)
Trouble remembering appointments
A pdf of the complete AD8 is available here; Permission to use the AD8 can be obtained here.
(It would seem that a combination of the AD8 with the UPSIT “scratch and sniff” test would make a moderately good inexpensive screening combination.)
These links to some articles on the AD8 have been posted in
Alzheimer’s > Diagnosis & Tests:
The AD8 and its Use as an Alzheimer’s Screening Test
Family, Friends Seem Best at Spotting Early Dementia
And these research publication links have also been posted in Alzheimer’s > Diagnosis & Tests. The first link is the original publication on the AD8, and the others are follow-ups:
The AD8: A brief informant interview to detect dementia
Relationship of dementia screening tests with biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease
The impact of dementia prevalence on the utility of the AD8
Reply: The impact of dementia prevalence on the utility of the AD8
