Preliminary validation of the apraxia battery for adults-second edition (ABA-2) in Greek patients with dementia

Apraxia is considered a supportive feature in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. It has been reported that patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) may present apraxia, especially in the buccofacial area. The Apraxia Battery for Adults (ABA-2) is a brief and practical battery for praxis impairment and has been validated in Greek post-stroke patients.

To validate and evaluate ABA-2 test, translated and culturally adapted, in a sample of Greek demented patients.

Patients diagnosed with FTD (n = 20) and AD (n = 20) were included in the study. Age-, gender-, and education- matched healthy controls (n = 20) were also tested. All participants completed Adenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R), Frontal Rating Scale (FRS), Frontal Behavioral Inventory (FBI), and ABA-2 battery. Sensitivity and specificity of ABA-2 were calculated, as well as its consistency and statistical significance for diagnosing apraxia.

The ABA-2 was able to differentiate demented patients from healthy controls with a sensitivity of 77.5% and specificity of 95%. Its validity was confirmed with Cronbach's alpha coefficient > 0.7, indicating satisfactory internal reliability. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing total ABA-2 score (p < 0.0001), as well as 3 out of 6 subtests of ABA-2, between the two study groups. Age, gender and education were not correlated with ABA-2 score.

ABA-2 is a valid, reliable and sensitive battery to differentiate demented patients from healthy individuals in the Greek population. We propose the modification of ABA-2 to a 5-subtest tool, to be administered as a bed-side test.