A new study published by Trinity College Dublin and LCP Health Analytics introduces a first-of-its-kind method for comparing evidence across clinical trials and real-world studies to improve outcomes for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the research maps two commonly used cognitive assessments: the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Clinical Dementia Rating – Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB).

The mapping will allow users to translate scores from one assessment tool to the other. These measures are often used independently in clinical trials and clinical practice, making comparing results across different studies challenging.

This study aims to address that gap by providing a complete mapping to translate measurements of clinical severity across data from clinical trials, real-world evidence, and clinical practice. 

The model was developed using MMSE and CDR-SB scores from 26,729 patients in the US. National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Centres (NACC) database. The mapping demonstrated strong performance, particularly in the earlier stages of the disease.

The research was supported by Novo Nordisk.