Doctors have devised a memory test which doubles the chances of detecting early dementia.
The Test Your Memory (TYM) method is so simple that patients could be taught to do it themselves.
It takes just five minutes to carry out and detects 93 per cent of cases of Alzheimer's, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal online.
This makes it almost twice as effective as the existing test - which is also more complex and takes longer to do - at detecting which people need further investigation.
The TYM test assesses those with memory problems on ten measures, including copying a sentence, calculations, verbal fluency and recall of a copied sentence. The researchers looked at 540 people aged 18 to 95 without memory problems, and 139 patients attending a memory clinic for dementia or mild cognitive impairment.
Healthy volunteers gained an average score of 47 out of 50 on the TYM test. Patients with Alzheimer's disease had consistently lower marks, with an average score of 33 out of 50.
Patients with mild cognitive impairment scored an average of 45 out of 50.
In the same study, a widely used test called the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) detected just 52 per cent of Alzheimer's patients. Consultant neurologist Jeremy Brown, who led the research team at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, said the MMSE had been around for 30 years and was used to decide whether dementia sufferers qualified for drugs on the NHS.
But it takes at least eight minutes to administer - when most GPs only get ten minutes with each patient - and is poor at picking up the early signs of Alzheimer's
Test Your Memory sample questions
• Who is the Prime Minister?
• Why is a carrot like a potato?
• Why is a lion like a wolf?
• In what year did WW1 start?
• Please list four creatures beginning with 'S' eg. shark
• Sums: 20-4= 16+17= 8X6= 4+15-17=
•
Dr Brown said another advantage of the TYM was that non-specialists could accurately compile scores after just ten minutes of training.
He added: 'You can't do the existing test yourself, which takes up a lot of time for doctors and other staff.
'The TYM can be done in a few minutes and it's a good way of identifying people who need further-assessment. If people have a low score it's possible there are other reasons, such as dyslexia, poor eyesight or nerves - but a doctor who knows them can pick that up.'
Healthcare staff will soon be able to access the test via a website the team is planning to set up.
It should also be simple to translate it into different languages.
Professor Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said: 'A test that helps detect dementia sooner in local healthcare facilities could help more people access vital care and support earlier.
'However, more research is needed to see if this test works in different settings with different groups of people and establish whether it is more effective than the most sensitive existing tests.'
Answers to sample questions: Gordon Brown. Both are vegetables. Both are animals/hunters. 1914. Any creature or breed of dog is fine. Mythical creatures not allowed. 6, 33, 48, 2