Utility of a Wisconsin card sorting test short form in persons with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease

Abstract

The utility of administering only the first deck of 64 cards from the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST-64) in persons with Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) was evaluated. There were 35 elderly subjects matched for gender, age, and education in each of four groups: controls, PD without dementia (PDN), PD with dementia (PDD), and AD. Additionally, the control and PDN subjects were matched for level of cognitive functioning as were the PDD and AD groups. Results revealed that demented persons performed significantly worse than nondemented subjects. The WCST-64 was also sensitive to the subtle executive deficits demonstrated by persons with PD without dementia. The findings support the use of the WCST-64 in elderly persons with AD and PD.