Complementary pre-screening strategies to uncover hidden prodromal and mild Alzheimer's disease: Results from the MOPEAD project.

INTRODUCTION: The Models of Patient Engagement for Alzheimer's Disease (MOPEAD) project was conceived to explore innovative complementary strategies to uncover hidden prodromal and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia cases and to raise awareness both in the general public and among health professionals about the importance of early diagnosis. METHODS: Four different strategies or RUNs were used: (a) a web-based (WB) prescreening tool, (2) an open house initiative (OHI), (3) a primary care-based protocol for early detection of cognitive decline (PC), and (4) a tertiary care-based pre-screening at diabetologist clinics (DC). RESULTS: A total of 1129 patients at high risk of having prodromal AD or dementia were identified of 2847 pre-screened individuals (39.7%). The corresponding proportion for the different initiatives were 36.8% (WB), 35.6% (OHI), 44.4% (PC), and 58.3% (DC). CONCLUSION: These four complementary pre-screening strategies were useful for identifying individuals at high risk of having prodromal or mild AD.

Identification of undiagnosed dementia cases using a web-based pre-screening tool: The MOPEAD project.

INTRODUCTION: Innovative patient engagement models are required to identify people with prodromal and mild Alzheimer's disease who are "hidden" in their communities and not normally found in a memory clinic setting. METHODS: A marketing campaign and a web-based pre-screening tool were used to identify individuals at risk of dementia in five European countries. Harmonized clinical evaluation of these patients was performed in participating memory clinics within the MOPEAD project. RESULTS: A total of 1487 individuals completed the pre-screening, with 547 of them found to be at risk of dementia (36.8%). Among the subset of 91 patients with a positive pre-screening result that underwent full clinical evaluation, 49 (53.8%) were diagnosed with either mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease. CONCLUSION: This novel web-based pre-screening tool showed to be a valid strategy to identify undiagnosed people with cognitive impairment.

A Cost-Consequence Analysis of Different Screening Procedures in Alzheimer's Disease: Results from the MOPEAD Project.

BACKGROUND: For care planning and support, under-detection and late diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a great challenge. Models of Patient-Engagement for Alzheimer's Disease (MOPEAD) is an EU-funded project aiming at testing different strategies to improve this situation. OBJECTIVE: To make a cost-consequence analysis of MOPEAD. METHODS: Four screening strategies were tested in five countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden): 1) a web-approach; 2) Open-House initiative; 3) in primary care; and 4) by diabetes specialists. Persons-at-risk of AD in all strategies were offered referral to a hospital-based specialist. The primary health-economic outcome was the cost per true-positive case (TP) of AD from the screened population. RESULTS: Of 2,847 screened persons, 1,121 screened positive (39%), 402 were evaluated at memory clinics (14%), and 236 got an AD diagnosis (8%). The cost per TP of those screened was €3,115 with the web-approach, €2,722 with the Open-House, €1,530 in primary care, and €1,190 by diabetes specialists. Sensitivity analyses that more likely reflect the real-world situation confirmed the results. The number-needed-to-screen was 30 with the web-approach, 8 with the Open-House and primary care, and 6 with the diabetes specialists.There were country differences in terms of screening rates, referrals to memory clinics, staff-types involved, and costs per TP. CONCLUSION: In primary care and by the diabetes specialist, the costs per TP/screened population were lowest, but the capacity of such settings to identify cases with AD-risk must be discussed. Hence new diagnostic strategies such as web-solutions and Open-House initiatives may be valuable after modifications.

Clinical Applicability of the Specific Risk Score of Dementia in Type 2 Diabetes in the Identification of Patients with Early Cognitive Impairment: Results of the MOPEAD Study in Spain.

INTRODUCTION: Although the Diabetes Specific Dementia Risk Score (DSDRS) was proposed for predicting risk of dementia at 10 years, its usefulness as a screening tool is unknown. For this purpose, the European consortium MOPEAD included the DSDRS within the specific strategy for screening of cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients attended in a third-level hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: T2D patients > 65 years, without known cognitive impairment, attended in a third-level hospital, were evaluated. As per MOPEAD protocol, patients with MMSE ≤ 27 or DSDRS ≥ 7 were referred to the memory clinic for complete neuropsychological assessment. RESULTS: 112 T2D patients were recruited. A total of 82 fulfilled the criteria for referral to the memory unit (43 of them declined referral: 48.8% for associated comorbidities, 37.2% lack of interest, 13.95% lack of social support). At the Fundació ACE's Memory Clinic, 34 cases (87.2%) of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 3 cases (7.7%) of dementia were diagnosed. The predictive value of DSDRS ≥ 7 as a screening tool of cognitive impairment was AUROC = 0.739, p 0.024, CI 95% (0.609-0.825). CONCLUSIONS: We found a high prevalence of unknown cognitive impairment in TD2 patients who attended a third-level hospital. The DSDRS was found to be a useful screening tool. The presence of associated comorbidities was the main factor of declining referral.