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Objective: The clock-drawing test (CDT) is a widely used screening tool for detecting cognitive decline. However, normative data for Chinese individuals are scarce. Our study aimed to provide standardized values for the three quantitative CDT scoring methods that were tailored for Chinese-speaking adults in Shijiazhuang City and explore the discriminant validity of the CDT scores in patients with acute ischemic stroke., Methods: We conducted the CDT among 418 healthy individuals aged between 35 and 84 years. The CDT was administered and scored by five raters using the method derived from the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Rouleau's, and Babins' scoring systems. The influence of age, education, and sex on the performance in the CDT was analyzed. Furthermore, 336 patients with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled to explore the discriminant validity of CDT scores., Results: In all three scoring systems, CDT scores were significantly correlated with age and years of education but not with sex. Normative data stratified for age and years of education were established. Interrater and intersystem reliability were high in our study. CDT total scores and subscores showed significant differences between stroke patients and healthy individuals., Conclusions: Our study provides CDT normative data using three quantitative scoring methods for Chinese-speaking adults in Shijiazhuang City. Age and education level were the key factors that affected the CDT scores. CDT total scores and subscores provided good discriminant validity for patients with acute ischemic stroke., (© 2020 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the domain-specific trends of cognitive function up to 12 months after mild acute ischemic stroke., Methods: Enrolment of consecutive cohort of patients with mild acute ischemic stroke with recorded clinical characteristics and extensive neuropsychological assessments, including five cognitive domains. The Montreal cognitive assessment of the Beijing version (MoCA-Bj) was used to assess overall cognition. All patients completed all domain-specific examinations were categorised into three groups according to the time between the stroke onset and neuropsychological profiling, the time duration including less than one month (n = 174), one month to six months (n = 65) and over six months (n = 39)., Results: The final cohort consisted of 278 patients. The executive (χ 2  = 6.95, P<0.05) and memory dysfunctions (χ 2  = 9.6, P<0.01) showed strong improvement, especially in executive function, which prevalence was 48.85% at <1- month group and 25.64% at >6 months group. The prevalence of attention and information processing also had a declining trend, the differences, however, were not statistically significant (χ 2  = 0.23 and 2.25, respectively, P>0.05). There was no significant change in language function (χ 2  = 0.46, P>0.05) and the MoCA (χ 2  = 0.59, P>0.05) at 3-time point groups. In 195 first-ever stroke patients, the results of memory (χ 2  = 6.94 P<0.05) and executive dysfunctions (χ 2  = 6.25 P<0.05) also showed significant improvement., Conclusion: There is varying degree of improvement tendency in executive and memory dysfunctions after mild acute ischemic stroke. Early cognitive assessments after mild acute ischemic stroke do not reflect the cognitive level of stable period., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)