Visual reproduction on the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised as a predictor of Alzheimer's disease in Japanese patients with mild cognitive impairments.

Background: The Visual Reproduction (VR) test is used to assess mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but the characteristics of visual memory in Japanese MCI patients remain unclear.
Methods: VR scores of 27 MCI patients were evaluated using the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised. Scores of MCI, no-dementia, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) groups were then compared.
Results: The annual conversion rate of MCI to AD was 18.8%. Mean VR-I and VR-II baseline scores for MCI patients were 33.3 ± 5.6 and 20.5 ± 14.0, respectively. Mean VR-II scores for converted and nonconverted MCI patients were 7.2 ± 8.7 and 29.8 ± 9.3, respectively.
Conclusions: It is likely that VR-II and VR-II/I scores are more sensitive for predicting conversion to AD in Japanese than in American MCI patients. Our results indicate that VR is a sensitive and useful measure for predicting the conversion of Japanese MCI patients to AD within 2 years.
(Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.)