Five Lives MED to Improve Cognitive Function in Mild Cognitive Impairment

The pen and paper, full version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a widely used screening tool designed to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early signs of dementia. It evaluates several cognitive domains, including short-term memory, visuospatial abilities, executive functions, attention, concentration, working memory, language, and orientation to time and place. The MoCA is scored out of 30 points, with a score of 26 or above considered normal. Lower scores indicate potential cognitive impairment, with specific ranges often used to gauge the severity: 18-25 for mild cognitive impairment, 10-17 for moderate cognitive impairment, and below 10 for severe cognitive impairment.

The Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C) is a 34-item tool designed to detect the onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms that are significant and persistent, particularly in individuals who are at risk for developing dementia. The MBI-C assesses symptoms across five core domains: decreased motivation, affective dysregulation, impulse control, social inappropriateness, and abnormal perception or thought content. Each item in the checklist is rated based on whether the symptom has been present for at least six months, with severity ratings ranging from mild to severe.

The Amsterdam Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire - Short Version (A-IADL-Q-SV) is a concise, informant-based tool designed to assess impairments in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in individuals with cognitive decline, including those with dementia. The short version consists of 30 items, covering various daily activities such as household tasks, managing finances, using technology, and leisure activities.

The total score, or T-score, is normally distributed with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. The T-score range is approximately 20-80, with higher scores indicating better daily functioning

The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Trail Making Test is a neuropsychological assessment used to evaluate various aspects of executive functioning, particularly cognitive flexibility, processing speed, and attention. It consists of five conditions that assess visual scanning, number sequencing, letter sequencing, number-letter switching, and motor speed. Each condition has raw and scaled scores, with higher scaled scores indicating better performance.

The 30-Second Chair Stand Test (30CST) is a functional fitness test designed to assess lower body strength and endurance, particularly in older adults. The test involves counting how many times an individual can fully stand up from a seated position and sit back down in a chair without using their arms, all within a 30-second period. A higher score indicates better performance. This test is commonly used to evaluate the risk of falls and overall functional mobility in seniors.

Five Lives offers five digital cognitive tests via iPad or smartphone, each targeting different cognitive functions.

• the Snap test assesses verbal fluency,
• the Breeze test measures short-term memory and numerical abilities through word recall tasks,
• the Cast test evaluates spatial and numerical memory with increasingly complex grid tasks,
• the Swift test, based on the Stroop Task, measures inhibition by requiring participants to identify the meaning or color of words, and
• the Twist test assesses processing speed and cognitive control using a digitized version of the Trail Making Test.

Higher scores indicate better performance.

The Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD) scale is a 13-item questionnaire designed to assess the quality of life of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease from both the patients and informants perspectives. It measures areas such as physical health, mood, relationships, and the ability to perform daily activities. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale from 1 (poor) to 4 (excellent), with total scores ranging from 13 to 52, where higher scores indicate a better perceived quality of life.

The Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) is a 30-item true/false questionnaire designed to assess knowledge about Alzheimers disease across several domains, including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, caregiving, and disease progression. Higher scores indicate better knowledge.

The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) is a widely used self-report tool designed to measure physical activity levels. The IPAQ has been adapted for use with older adults, including those aged 65 and above. The IPAQ can be particularly useful in assessing physical activity levels in this demographic, helping to understand the frequency, intensity, and duration of various types of physical activity, such as walking, moderate, and vigorous activities. Scores will be expressed in metabolic equivalent (MET)-min per week, which higher MET-min indicating more physical activity.