Abstract

Improvements in the cognitive function of patients with severe dementia may be overlooked if the tests being used have low sensitivity. The Cognitive Test for Severe Dementia (CTSD) that we previously developed is sensitive to such changes. Here, we report four severe dementia subjects whose cognitive function improved, assessed by CTSD as "Minimal Detectable Change" after one year of daily clinical intervention. Comparably, their Mini-Mental State Examination scores remained unchanged. With the use of a test tailor-made for severe dementia such as the CTSD, it is also possible to appreciate the effects of daily clinical treatment and rehabilitation better and in greater detail. "Clinically significant cognitive improvement can be quantified by devising interventions and outcome measures, even in severe stage dementia".