thanks to trump the moca test is back in the news
the moca stands for montreal cognitive assessment test which is used for someone whom you have concerns that they are having memory loss
why was he having the moca test done
it doenst measure ones intelligence or iq or whether one has a psychiatric diagnosis like anxiety or depression or schizophrenia or narcissism or psychopathic personalities or other psychiatric diagnoses
if you know someone who has taken the test its usually done for a reason memory loss
i have had the test done probably 20 or more times
it is one of the memory tests that alzheimers research studies use to monitor study participants
each year when i see my neurologist she administers a version of the moca test
it gives her a feel for where i am with my disease
each time i get a different version of the moca test but the principles are the same
the moca test is sensitive for picking up someone who has mild cognitive impairment
if you have alzheimers it will not be normal
if used as a screening tests for memory loss and its abnormal then a full neuropsychological exam is done to verify the diagnosis
my initial moca test i did almost 10 years ago was abnormal
abnormal enough that it lead me to discontinue practice and get started on the drug aricept a month later
a few years ago the neurologist laid out my moca test scores over several years for me to see
you could see where i was at a mild cognitive impairment level that went lower for awhile then gradually overtime return back to a normal level and has remained there for the last several years
why is mine normal now
the aricept (donepezil)
the healthy living things i do
control of my blood pressure and cholesterol
maybe the few months of iv aducanumab i received
my last several moca tests have had a perfect score as trump calls it of 30
im glad he had a normal score since i wouldnt wish alzheimers disease on anyone
it doesnt mean though that a person doesnt have a psychiatric or personality problem if the score is normal though
the designer of the moca test said this in the washington post recently
“it’s not meant to measure IQ or intellectual skill in any way. If someone performs well, what it means is they can be ruled out for cognitive impairment that comes with diseases like Alzheimer’s, stroke or multiple sclerosis. That’s it.”
i have administered the test personally to several people over the years
you can miss three things on the test and still be in the normal range ie you dont have to be perfect
i once missed two things and still got a normal score
the range is 27-30 for normal
i worry about all this talk about the moca test and maybe misunderstanding on how its used
its such an important tool in following ones memory loss and for helping make the initial diagnosis
i would prefer it not be in the news so folks dont go and read the moca test which if you arent careful will make its use not as accurate
so
i also have a perfect moca test now but i didnt initially
but now
i am on aricept
i have a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers
i have received iv aducanumab to remove amyloid from the brain and hope to continue its use
so
remember
just because the moca test is normal doesnt mean things are ok up in your brain
the organicgreen doctor
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