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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Alzheimer's / September 2006Handwriting
I wrote to this forum re my late wife a few times several year ago and occasionally post an informational article i find. I have a question concerning deterioration of handwriting. Both my brother and i have noticed a marked deterioration in our mother's handwriting. She has been physically unwell due to years of alcohol abuse catching up with her so we are not sure whether the deterioration is due to physical or other reasons. At times she can be very together and sharp and yet at others less so- .Another problem is that it is hard to get her too eat much. I know this could be due to the alcohol related problems but am also aware that deterioration in eating and weight loss can be a dementia sign. This was one of the first signs with my late wife. My mother is 71 and on a fair whack of meds for the alcohol related problems plus an anti depressant. Could the deterioration in handwriting indicate an early/prodromal sign of mild cognitive impairment/dementia? My brother and i did mention our concerns to the gp when he paid her a home visit and he asked the obligatory where do you live,what's your name,date of birth,who's the prime minister which she answered ok apart from saying her birthday was May 6 1930 instead of 1935.However she is a highly intelligent woman so unless she was markedly demented she would be able to answer things like who the PM is. http://www.worldaidsday.org/index.asp http://fightaidsathome.scripps.edu/ >I wrote to this forum re my late wife a few times several year ago and >occasionally post an informational article i find. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Could the deterioration in handwriting indicate an early/prodromal > sign of mild cognitive impairment/dementia? Tim, I think its impossible to know, its bad enough with one problem, add another one asw ell, and who knows. We all know that some capabilities deteriorate at a much faster rate than others, and also that there may be a slow and steady decline to a point,and then a sudden drop, this could mean other capabilities are due to go, or it may not. How about getting hold of the mini test and giving it yourslef, say monthly, that would give you something objective and also perhaps something to show the doc that might help getting the right medication a bit earlier..  SignatureTumbleweed email replies not necessary but to contact use; tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com > ... > How about getting hold of the mini test and giving it yourslef, say monthly, > that would give you something objective and also perhaps something to show > the doc that might help getting the right medication a bit earlier.. There is a usable summary of the "mini mental state examination" on the UK Alzheimer's society website at: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/How_is_dementia_diagnosed/Diagnosis_process/info_mm se.htm Unfortunately, the test is copyrighted and you have to pay the copyright holder to see the real thing. There is also a super mini test that consists of asking the person to draw a clock face with a specific time on it, e.g., 10 minutes past 11. This is very difficult for AD patients and can actually be used (so they say) to diagnose the stage of the disease based on the specific errors made. It's called the "Clock Drawing Test". A further elaboration is to tell the person 3 random words and say that you are going to ask him later what the three words are. Then give the clock drawing test, then ask the words again. See http://alzheimers.about.com/od/diagnosisissues/a/MMSE_3.htm Alan >I wrote to this forum re my late wife a few times several year ago and >occasionally post an informational article i find. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > woman so unless she was markedly demented she would be able to answer > things like who the PM is. Hi...I had an aunt who has passed on many years ago, who was a Graphologist. She could study handwriting and tell you about physical as well as mental problems and quite frankly she was right on most of the time. A lot of people think it's a bunch of hooey but she convinced me by being correct just about all the time. Graphology is a science. She could even decipher a scribble. Amazing, I've never met anyone else with her skills and yes she did go to school to learn it. She taught me a few things about it but I was never close to her level of knowledge. One thing I know, sometimes things can be obvious in handwriting and in life. I suspect you know the answer to your question.....June > Could the deterioration in handwriting indicate an early/prodromal > sign of mild cognitive impairment/dementia? it might indicate something else, like parkinson's. the "who's the PM?" test is not very valid. try testing her with the MMSE, which is far more reliable. see http://www.emedicine.com/splash/etools_xml.pl?file=mini_mental_status_exam&prog= edecision or http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/geriatrics/chapters/mini-mental_exam.cfm >> Could the deterioration in handwriting indicate an early/prodromal >> sign of mild cognitive impairment/dementia? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > see > http://www.emedicine.com/splash/etools_xml.pl?file=mini_mental_status_exam&prog= edecision I found the MMSE on another website where they wanted, IIRC, $50 for me to download it. It's amazing how much money people charge for free information. Alan Dennis and everyone, I found a problem with the link to emedicine.com due to the "splash" I believe. I found the one instead...still free. http://www.emedicine.com/neuro/topic13.htm Elaine >> Could the deterioration in handwriting indicate an early/prodromal >> sign of mild cognitive impairment/dementia? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > or > http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/geriatrics/chapters/mini-mental_exam.cfm Thanks to all those who took the time to reply. Signaturehttp://www.worldaidsday.org/index.asp http://fightaidsathome.scripps.edu/ |
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