Using item-specificity to promote tailored training and remediation in normal and pathological aging.

摘要

Ecologically valid studies using cognitive test variables to facilitate treatment planning and patient management are becoming increasingly important, as we attempt to improve quality of life into the highest of age decades. In this issue, Board and Allen use the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (1,2) to demonstrate its usefulness in predicting individuals who will have difficulty in learning inhaler techniques secondary to acute medical and/or surgical illness. The MMSE is the most commonly used cognitive screen in the elderly and is typically used to screen for dementia.