Mini–Mental State Examination

Interlocking pentagons used for the last question

The MMSE test includes simple questions and problems in a number of areas: the time and place of the test, repeating lists of words, arithmetic such as the serial sevens, language use and comprehension, and basic motor skills. For example, one question, derived from the older Bender-Gestalt Test, asks to copy a drawing of two pentagons (shown on the right or above).[4]

A version of the MMSE questionnaire can be found on the British Columbia Ministry of Health website.[15]

Although consistent application of identical questions increases the reliability of comparisons made using the scale, the test can be customized (for example, for use on patients that are blind or partially immobilized.) Also, some have questioned the use of the test on the deaf.[16] However, the number of points assigned per category is usually consistent:

Any score of 24 or more (out of 30) indicates a normal cognition. Below this, scores can indicate severe (≤9 points), moderate (10–18 points) or mild (19–23 points) cognitive impairment. The raw score may also need to be corrected for educational attainment and age.[22] That is, even a maximum score of 30 points can never rule out dementia. Low to very low scores correlate closely with the presence of dementia, although other mental disorders can also lead to abnormal findings on MMSE testing. The presence of purely physical problems can also interfere with interpretation if not properly noted; for example, a patient may be physically unable to hear or read instructions properly or may have a motor deficit that affects writing and drawing skills.

The MMSE has been able to differentiate different types of dementias. Studies have found that patients with Alzheimer's disease score significantly lower on orientation to time and place, and recall compared to patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, vascular dementia and Parkinson's disease dementia.[23][24][25] However, systematic reviews of this test have shown no evidence to support this examination as a stand-alone one-time test for identifying high risk individuals who are likely to develop Alzheimer's.[26]

In order to maximize the benefits of the MMSE the following recommendations from Tombaugh and McIntyre (1992) should be employed:

1. The MMSE should be used as a screening device for cognitive impairment or a diagnostic adjunct in which a low score indicates the need for further evaluation. It should not serve as the sole criterion for diagnosing dementia or to differentiate between various forms of dementia.[26] However, the MMSE scores may be used to classify the severity of cognitive impairment or to document serial change in dementia patients.
2. The following four cut-off levels should be employed to classify the severity of cognitive impairment: no cognitive impairment 24-30; mild cognitive impairment 19-23; moderate cognitive impairment 10-18; and severe cognitive impairment ≤9.
3. The MMSE should not be used clinically unless the person has at least a grade eight education and is fluent in English. While this recommendation does not discount the possibility that future research may show that number of years of education constitutes a risk factor for dementia, it does acknowledge the weight of evidence showing that low educational levels substantially increase the likelihood of misclassifying normal subjects as cognitively impaired.
4. Serial 7's and WORLD should not be considered equivalent items. Both items should be administered and the higher of the two should be used. In scoring serial 7's each number must be independently compared to the prior number to ensure that a single mistake is not unduly penalized. WORLD should be spelled forward (and corrected) prior to spelling it backward.
5. The words apple, penny and table should be used for registration and recall. If necessary, the words may be administered up to three times in order to obtain perfect registration, but the score is based on the first trial.
6. The 'county' and 'where are you' orientation to place questions should be modified: the name of the county where a person lives should be asked rather than the county of the testing site, and the name of the street where the individual lives should be asked rather than the name of the floor where the testing is taking place.

The MMSE was first published in 1975 as an appendix to an article written by Marshal F. Folstein, Susan Folstein, and Paul R. McHugh.[4] It was published in Volume 12 of the Journal of Psychiatric Research, published by Pergamon Press. While the MMSE was attached as an appendix to the article, the copyright ownership of the MMSE (to the extent that it contains copyrightable content[27]) remained with the three authors. Pergamon Press was subsequently taken over by Elsevier, who also took over copyright of the Journal of Psychiatric Research.[28]

The authors later transferred all their intellectual property rights, including the copyright of the MMSE, to MiniMental registering the transfer with the U.S. Copyright Office on June 8, 2000.[29] In March 2001, MiniMental entered into an exclusive agreement with Psychological Assessment Resources granting PAR the exclusive rights to publish, license, and manage all intellectual property rights to the MMSE in all media and languages in the world.[30] Despite the many free versions of the test that are available on the internet, PAR claims that the official version is copyrighted and must be ordered only through it.[31][32] At least one legal expert has claimed that PAR's copyright claims are weak.[27] The enforcement of copyright on the MMSE has been compared to the phenomenon of "stealth" or "submarine" patents, in which a patent applicant waited until an invention gained widespread popularity before allowing the patent to issue, and only then commenced enforcement. Such applications are no longer possible, given changes in patent law.[31] The enforcement of the copyright has led to researchers looking for alternative strategies in assessing cognition.[33]

PAR have also asserted their copyright against an alternative diagnostic test, "Sweet 16", which was designed to avoid the copyright issues surrounding the MMSE. Sweet 16 was a 16-item assessment developed and validated by Tamara Fong and published in March 2011; like the MMSE it included orientation and three-object recall. Assertion of copyright forced the removal of this test from the Internet.[34]

In February 2010, PAR released a second edition of the MMSE; 10 foreign language translations (French, German, Dutch, Spanish for the US, Spanish for Latin America, European Spanish, Hindi, Russian, Italian, and Simplified Chinese) were also created.[35]

• Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE)
• Mental status examination (MSE)
• Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
• Saint Louis University Mental Status Exam (SLUMS)
• Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE)
• NIH stroke scale (NIHSS)
• Self-administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE)
• Abbreviated mental test score (AMTS)