Calculating an Alzheimer’s disease progression rate can reliably predict how quickly a patient with Alzheimer’s disease will experience cognitive decline, according to a recent study published online in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy.

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas studied 597 patients with Alzheimer’s disease in order to evaluate the reliability of the Alzheimer’s progression rate measure in predicting loss of cognition and function. During a follow-up period of 15 years, the researchers confirmed that calculating a simple Alzheimer’s progression rate using a baseline Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score and a standard assessment of Alzheimer’s symptom duration at the initial physician visit gave reliable information about the patients’ performance over time. They found that Alzheimer’s patients in the slow and intermediate progress groups maintained better performance on tests of cognitive function, global function, and complex activities of daily living. They also found that patients in the slowest progression group survived longer.

Many Alzheimer’s patients and their families ask healthcare providers to predict how fast the disease will progress. Based on the findings of this study, the Alzheimer’s progression rate may be a quick and simple tool that can be used to set expectations. However, these findings need to be confirmed and further study is needed to address the effect of anti-dementia medications, physical findings, and genetic susceptibility factors on Alzheimer’s disease progression.

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Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy. Published online 23 Feb 2010.