06/03/2025
🧠 Improved test scores don’t always indicate meaningful cognitive or functional change.
Tools like the MOCA and MMSE are helpful for screening early cognitive impairment—but they weren’t designed to assess treatment response. When used as outcome measures in studies or supplement claims, they can lead to misleading conclusions.
📈 Increases in scores may reflect practice effects, not true neurological recovery or improved daily functioning.
To evaluate whether a treatment truly works, we need to go beyond test scores.
Accurate assessment requires:
✅ Comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation
🔁 Repeated testing across cognitive domains
🏠 Clear improvement in functional outcomes—the ability to manage real-world tasks
🧪 Supportive biomarkers (e.g., imaging, CSF)
Effective treatment should improve how someone lives—not just how they test.
✅ For APOE4 carriers and those with a family history of Alzheimer’s, long-term brain health is best supported by an early intervention that includes sustainable long term lifestyle changes—such as a diet rich in fibers, good fats and nutrients, regular physical activity, quality sleep, and maintaining overall metabolic health.
