A shortened form of the Spanish Boston naming test: A useful tool for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Introduction. The Boston Naming Test (BNT) is the most frequently used test of confrontation naming. Due to its length, several abbreviated forms have been proposed. Objective. The aim of the study was to develop a short form for the Spanish version of the BNT that could detect early semantic changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Patients and methods. One-hundred and three patients with diagnosis of probable AD (NINCDS-ADRDA criteria), with GDS < 5 and 143 normal subjects, matched for age and education, were studied. Subjects with <4 years of education were excluded. No subject had any history of neurological of psychiatric disorders or alcohol abuse. All participants uderwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment which included the 60-item Spanish version of the BNT. The sensibility and specificity of each item and demographic effect's variability were calculated (A NO VA). Those 12 figures with the highest sensibility and specificity which showed no significant educational or age variation were administered to all participants. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used. Results. Mean score for the control group was I I (standard deviation: 1.16). No significant effects for age(r= 0.14574) or education (r= 0.101293) were found. The sensibility and specificity for correctly diagnosing AD was 85% and 94% respectively, similar to the longest version. Conclusion. This 12-item version of the BNT can be a useful instrument for a rapid screening of AD, as it is as sensible and specific as the 60-item version, and it is not influenced by age or education.