Assessing Performance on Digital Clock Drawing Test in Aged Patients With Cerebral Small Vessel Disease

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Neuropsychology
• Geriatrics

Background:

• Small vessel disease (SVD) affects cerebral small vessels, leading to cognitive impairments.
• The digital clock drawing test (dCDT) offers enhanced cognitive assessment compared to traditional methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of dCDT in identifying specific cognitive performance aspects in aged SVD patients.
• To compare cognitive function in severe SVD, low SVD, and healthy individuals using dCDT.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 20 severe-SVD, 10 low-SVD, and 10 healthy aged individuals based on Fazekas' score.
• Administered dCDT and various neuropsychological assessments to evaluate cognitive function.
• Utilized linear regression analysis to correlate dCDT parameters with cognitive test results.

Main Results:

• Severe-SVD patients exhibited higher air-time percentage and lower mean drawing pressure during dCDT compared to controls.
• Air-time percentage correlated significantly with Choice Reaction Test (CRT) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST).
• Mean drawing pressure showed a limited correlation with DSST.

Conclusions:

• dCDT provides a novel perspective for detecting early cognitive deficits in aged SVD patients.
• dCDT parameters like air-time and pressure offer valuable insights into SVD-related cognitive changes.
• This digital tool enhances the assessment of cognitive function in SVD.