Prospective Research in Memory Clinics (PRIME)

CDR is a 5-point scale to evaluates the clinical patterns and severity of the patients suspected or diagnosed as dementia in 6 areas: memory, orientation, judgment and problem solving ability, social activity, domestic living and hobbies, and hygiene and dressing up, where 0 = no cognitive impairment, 0.5 = very mild dementia, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, and 3 = severe. Higher scores indicate worsening.

The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) is a brief 30-point questionnaire test that is used or the assessment of dementia patients' cognitive impairment. Evaluation of points are as follows: 24 to 30 = no cognitive impairment, 18 to 23 = mild cognitive impairment, 0 to 17 = severe cognitive impairment. Lower scores indicate worsening.

Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale is consists of 11 items, which assess memory, language and praxis, and can be administered independently of the non-cognitive portion. The total score ranges between 0 (best) and 70 (worst), with eight of the eleven items scoring between 0 (no impairment) and 5 (most impairment), and three of the items scoring from 0 to 8 (orientation questions), 0 to 10 (word recall) and 0 to 12 (word recognition). Higher scores indicate worsening

The Clock Drawing Test is a simple and reliable measure of visuospatial ability. The test requires the participant to draw the face of a clock reading ten minutes after eleven, and the rater scores the result from 10 (best) to 1 (worst). Lower scores indicate worsening.

Frontal Assessment Battery is a short, simple testing for frontal lobe function that explores six domains of frontal lobe activity; conceptualization, mental flexibility, motor programming, sensitivity to interference, inhibitory control, and environmental autonomy. It takes approximately 10 minutes to administer.

Functional Autonomy Measurement System is a 29-item scale developed according to the WHO classification of disabilities. It measures functional ability in five areas: activities of daily living (ADL), mobility, communication, mental functions and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). For each item, the disability is scored on a 5-point scale: 0 (independent), -0.5 (with difficulty), -1 (needs supervision), -2 (needs help), -3 (dependent). A disability score (up to -87) can be calculated, together with sub-scores for each dimension.

The neuropsychiatric inventory is used to characterize the neuropsychiatric symptom profiles in a variety of neurological diseases. Categories include symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, dysphoria, anxiety, agitation/aggression, euphoria, disinhibition, irritability, apathy, Night-time behaviour, appetite and eating, and aberrant motor activity. For each symptom, responder has to indicate "yes", if the symptom has been present since a month. The responder then rate the severity of the symptom on a 3-point scale for which scores range from "1 = Mild (noticeable, but not a significant change)" to "3 = Severe (very marked or prominent; a dramatic change)" and also rate the distress experienced due to the symptom on a 6-point scale for which scores range from "0 = Not distressing at all" to "5 = Extreme or very severe (extremely distressing, unable to cope with)". Higher scores indicate more behavioural disturbance.

Zarit caregiver burden scale is used to measure caregiver burden as it relates to time, developmental comparison with peers, physical health, social relationships, and emotional health. It has 22 item and each question is scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 = never present to 4 = nearly always present. The sum of the total scores of the 22-items is calculated in the range from 0 (low burden) to 88 (high burden). Higher scores indicate worsening.

Resource utilization questionnaire will be completed at the end of each calendar month by participant/caregiver.