On December 2nd, we hosted a virtual talk by Dr. Serge Gauthier, author of 2021 World Alzheimer Report.
As a neurologist, researcher, and professor, Dr. Gauthier dedicated decades to the etiology and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. His work has influenced ethical guidelines and study design globally, resulting in over 700 authored peer-reviewed articles.
Watch presentation and download the slides
With only 30 questions, usually completed in 10 to 12 minutes, MoCA can detect mild cognitive impairment with greater sensitivity than other cognitive assessment tools. MoCA’s efficiency and superior sensitivity have resulted in wide-spread adoption among various medical professions in clinical, academic, and research settings worldwide.
However, professionals of all backgrounds still risk committing common errors, which can include gestures, cues, additional attempts, drawing outside allotted space, and incorrect scoring.
At the MoCA Clinic and Institute, we receive hundreds of referrals for memory loss each year. We regularly repeat MoCA assessments on patients 1-2 months after a previous assessment was completed outside of our facility. We have observed significant differences in total scores (3-4 points on average, and up to 4-5 points in some cases) in at least 20% of patients.
The MoCA Clinic and Institute has therefore implemented important features to maximize consistency and accuracy among raters:
Complete common MoCA errors quiz now
We monitor the performance of the Training & Certification module by comparing pre- and post-training evaluation scores. In a sample of 1850 consecutive training sessions, our analysis has found a pronounced improvement of MoCA competency across professions, geographies, and levels of experience. Overall:
Our observations are in line with the findings of Newman et al1, published in 2018, which noted significant errors in administration and scoring of cognitive assessments performed by highly educated clinicians and researchers.
A 2019 study2 from the Kirkhof College of Nursing looked specifically at MoCA use in dementia detection and found that better understanding of the test itself and related neuroanatomy resulted in improved diagnosis and patient care.
Furthermore, A 2018 study3 in The New Zealand Medical Journal demonstrated a knowledge gap in junior doctors administering and scoring MoCA. With specific training, their accuracy and consistency improved significantly.
For these reasons, and due to strong demand from healthcare organizations and professional associations, MoCA has developed and made mandatory a brief online Training and Certification program.
To learn more about MoCA’s official Training & Certification: www.mocatest.org/training-certification/
(1) Newman, C. G., Bevins, A. D., Zajicek, J. P., Hodges, J. R., Vuillermoz, E., Dickenson, J. M., … & Noad, R. F. (2018). Improving the quality of cognitive screening assessments: ACEmobile, an iPad‐based version of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination‐III. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 10(1), 182-187.
(2) Sutton, F.F. (2019) Implementation of an evidence-based screening protocol to improve the diagnosis of dementia in a home-based primary care setting. Kirkhof College of Nursing. https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1090&context=kcon_doctoralprojects
(3) Tromop-van Dalen, C., Thorne, K., Common, K., Edge, G., Woods, L. (2018) Audit to investigate junior doctors knowledge of how to administer and score the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The New Zealand Medical Journal, Vol 131, No. 147.
On October 7th, we hosted a virtual talk by Dr. Maria Teresa Ferretti, co-founder of Women’s Brain Project.
Dr. Ferretti’s work as a neuroimmunologist and Chief Scientific Officer at the WBP has resulted in several scientific publications in leading journals, including Nature, Science, and PNAS. Dr. Ferretti is a sought-after speaker, having completed three TEDx Talks and regular lectures and presentations at both scientific and lay public meetings. She is a faculty member of the Course for Advance Studies (CAS) on gender medicine at University of Zurich and the editor of the recent book ‘Sex differences in Alzheimer’s Disease
Watch presentation: “Sex Differences in Alzheimer’s and Cognitive Screening”
MoCA creator, Dr. Ziad Nasreddine was recently interviewed by Ms. Wilson Nice, a speech-language pathologist herself and the curator of www.NiceSpeechLady.com which offers practical resources and great content for medical SLP’s.
Watch their interesting discussion regarding cognitive screening:
We are pleased to announce that MoCA’s official Training & Certification program is now available at no cost for all students, faculty members, and academic researchers. Proof of academic status is required and must be submitted via our website
The move to free certification for academic groups—along with free MoCA PDF pages already available on the MoCA website—underlines our commitment to ensuring unrestricted access to MoCA, while maintaining consistency and accuracy.
From the authors [bold added]:
“To investigate the consequences of hyperglycemia and metformin in the clinical scenario, we recruited frail hypertensive patients and we evaluated their Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores, comparing them according to the glycemic status (normoglycemic vs. hyperglycemic) and the use of metformin. We enrolled 376 patients, of which 209 successfully completed the study. We observed a significant correlation between MoCA score and glycemia. We found that hyperglycemic patients treated with metformin had a significantly better MoCA score than hyperglycemic patients treated with insulin (18.32 ± 3.9 vs. 14.94 ± 3.8; p < 0.001). Our in vitro assays confirmed the beneficial effects of metformin on human brain microvascular ECs. To our knowledge, this is the first study correlating MoCA score and glycemia in frail and hypertensive older adults, showing that hyperglycemia aggravates cognitive impairment.“
Dear Colleague,
On June 7, the FDA announced the historic fast-tracked approval of Biogen’s Aduhelm (aducanumab) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. This is the first drug to target the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s and significantly reduce amyloid beta plaque in patients.
There has not been an FDA-approved treatment for the disease since 2003, and we are tremendously delighted by this news.
MoCA Research & Innovation has been working with Biogen, and other major pharma, to not only test and validate treatment options –such as Aducanumab—but to also facilitate rapid comprehensive screening of MCI and early-stage Alzheimer’s among large populations.
Early detection of MCI/Alzheimer’s is imperative to ensure optimal management and outcome. And now, with novel treatments, progression of symptoms and disease conditions can be reduced or halted.
MoCA’s mission has always been to provide the most efficient assessment solutions for earliest diagnosis of MCI, and we are excited to share with you soon the most advanced versions we are working on.
Cheers to you, the medical community.
The MoCA Team
It is for our growing community of healthcare professionals that we are now requiring training and certification for test use. In an effort to reduce variability and ensure the highest accuracy, our training and certification program will become mandatory as of September 1, 2019
Based on the available studies, the MoCA is the most accurate and reliable instrument for identifying VCI.
