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Luria's three-step test: what is it and what does it tell us?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2011

Myron F. Weiner ,
Linda S. Hynan ,
Heidi Rossetti  and
Jed Falkowski
Myron F. Weiner*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA Department of Neurology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
Linda S. Hynan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
Heidi Rossetti
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Jed Falkowski
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Myron F. Weiner, MD, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75390–9129, USA. Phone: +1 214-648-9353; Fax: +1 214-648-2031. Email: myron.weiner@utsouthwestern.edu.
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Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine if the three-step Luria test is useful for differentiating between cognitive disorders.

Methods: A retrospective record review of performance on the three-step Luria test was conducted on 383 participants from a university-based dementia clinic. The participants ranged in their diagnosis from frontotemporal dementia (FTD; n = 43), Alzheimer disease (AD; n = 153), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 56), and normal controls (NC; n = 131). Performance of the Luria test was graded as normal or abnormal.

Results: An abnormal test occurred in 2.3% of NC, 21.4% of MCI, 69.8% of FTD, and 54.9% of AD subjects. The frequency of abnormal tests in all diagnostic groups increased with functional impairment as assessed by the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR). When CDR = 3 (severe), 100% of the FTD and 72.2% of the AD subjects had abnormal Luria tests.

Conclusions: The three-step Luria test distinguished NC and persons with MCI from FTD and AD, but did not distinguish FTD from AD subjects.

Keywords

Luria testmild cognitive impairmentfrontotemporal dementiaAlzheimer's disease
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 23 , Issue 10 , December 2011 , pp. 1602 - 1606
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

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