Can the sensitivity of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale be increased?

The author analyzed and compared Mini-Mental State Exam and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) scores for 48 patients with Alzheimer's disease to determine whether improvements could be made in the ADAS. Results suggest that cognitive ability could be more accurately evaluated by shortening the number of words on the ADAS word recall task and reducing the number of trials on the word recognition task. These modifications would increase the likelihood of identifying medication effects.