We assessed the severity of dementia (questionable, mild, moderate or severe) using the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) [ 37].
In the current study, the severity of dementia symptoms (i.e., its 'stage') was quantified by the CDR.
The complex relationship between falls and cognitive decline (including both subtype and severity of dementia) and the influence of gait disorders have not been studied.
Agreement decreased with increasing severity of dementia.
The reported percentage of independence decreased with increasing severity of dementia.
Among persons with dementia, average level of performance decreased as severity of dementia increased.
Increase in severity of dementia corresponds with decreased cognitive function, memory loss, and, eventually, physical decline.
Age, level of education, severity of dementia, and rapidity of progression of disease did not predict dropout.
Among Japanese Americans, the CERAD Neuropsychology Battery distinguished nondemented persons from those with dementia, but was less consistent in distinguishing levels of severity of dementia.
Future decision models of interventions in dementia could consider including mortality and stratifying it by age, gender and severity of dementia for more accurate predictions.
One of the stated ADNI goals is to improve clinical trial design through detection of biomarkers that could be used as approximate measures of the severity of dementia.
