Trump and MoCA Test : Comments by Dr Ziad Nasreddine Test Creator
Jan 26, 2018, 06:00 ET
MONTREAL, Jan. 26 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Dr Ziad Nasreddine the creator and copyright owner of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) would like to make the following comments about the MoCA Test after it was used to assess President Trump.
- The cognitive performance of President Trump is reassuring for ruling out Mild Alzheimer (AD) or Dementia. Very Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) can be missed by the screening test in 10% of patients, particularly if they are highly educated. But the President's 30/30 performance on the test makes that unlikely. In our cohort, only 8 out of 90 normal subjects (average age 73), scored 30/30. None of our MCI or Mild AD subjects scored 30/30.
- Training and certification are required to insure accuracy to administer and interpret the test.
- A MoCA App has been developed to insure reliable administration and scoring and to measure processing speed.
- Due to popular demand, a self administered Mini MoCA designed for public self screening will be released soon.
- We have informed media not to post the MoCA test, to decrease patient exposure to the test prior to their doctor visit. Although in my experience there is no significant learning effect when Mild Cognitively impaired subjects were exposed multiple times to the same test. If concerned about such a learning effect, physicians can use the already available alternate MoCA versions.
- Guidelines are needed for cognitive screening, after a certain age, for cognitively demanding jobs such as Presidents/Politicians, Juges/Lawyers, Professors, Doctors, Pilots, Engineers etc.
About The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
The MoCA test, Copyright Ziad Nasreddine MD, was created in 1996. It has been validated and shown to be superior to other cognitive screening scales in more than 600 independent international studies in at least 20 neurological and medical conditions.
It is used in 200 countries and translated to 65 languages and dialects.
The Canadian Institute of Health and Research named the MoCA among top 10 major Canadian contributions in the field of Alzheimer's disease.
The MoCA is recommended by the NIH for vascular cognitive impairment.
Clinicians and academic researchers can download freely the MoCA paper version from the MoCA website.
About Ziad Nasreddine MD FRCP(C) Neurologist
Dr Nasreddine completed his medical and neurological training at Université de Sherbrooke, and a Cognitive Neurology Fellowship at UCLA.
He created the MoCA Test in 1996.
He founded the MoCA Clinic and Institute. He is involved in multiple clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease. He also created Alzheimer.tv a dedicated website to inform clinicians and the public about Alzheimer disease related news and discoveries.
He is currently affiliated with Université de Sherbrooke and McGill University.
He also works at Neuro Rive Sud, and Charles LeMoyne Hospital on the south shore of Montreal, Québec, Canada.
SOURCE Moca Test Inc.