[Neuropsychological examination in evaluating dementia]

Neuropsychological assessment of dementia should be obtained using a two-step procedure: 1) a family physician performs a mental screening; 2) specialists determine the diagnosis after a thorough differential diagnostic process. This second step includes the quantitative neuropsychological assessment of the patients' cognitive functions which has the following purposes: a) to contribute to the differential diagnostic process; b) to aid in diagnosing patients at the earliest stage of dementia; c) to document disease progression and therapy outcomes; and, d) to identify relatively intact areas of cognition to serve as a basis for cognitive therapy. A Swiss consensus to utilize the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD) Neuropsychological Battery as a minimal standard assessment instrument is introduced.