Schuller A, Matuszewski V, Santos P
Bull Soc Sci Med Grand Duche Luxemb. 2016(2):51-66.
The diagnosis of neurocognitive disorders such as mild cognitive impairments and dementia is a challenging endeavour. On behalf of the neuropsychologists of the Luxembourgish Society of Psychology (SLP), the authors develop a common framework for the neuropsychological diagnosis of dementia in the Luxembourgish context (NP-DiaDem) and promote the role of the neuropsychologist in this process. The paper's aim is threefold: (I) highlighting the role of the neuropsychological evaluation to support the medical diagnosis of neurodegenerative cognitive disorders; (II) providing recommendations for the neuropsychological assessment, based on recently published international guidelines; and (III) providing a new diagnostic process, facilitating the differentiation between mild and more severe states of cognitive decline. An important heterogeneity in the evaluation of cognitive performances and assessments instruments exists, partly due to the multicultural and multilingual context of the population living in Luxembourg. Prior applying the present recommendations, a note on the specific Luxembourgish context is provided as it influences directly the diagnostic process. The absence of validated and culturally adapted assessment tools for the Luxembourgish context is a serious problem in the diagnosis of cognitive deficits of either origin. The taskforce therefore strongly recommends and supports the development of a large database of cognitive performance data and hence population-specific norms for some of the most basic diagnostic tools.
诊断轻度认知障碍和痴呆等神经认知障碍是一项具有挑战性的工作。作者代表卢森堡心理学会（SLP）的神经心理学家，制定了卢森堡背景下痴呆症神经心理学诊断的通用框架（NP-DiaDem），并在此过程中促进神经心理学家的作用。本文的目的有三个：（I）强调神经心理学评估在支持神经退行性认知障碍医学诊断中的作用；（II）根据最近发布的国际指南，为神经心理学评估提供建议；（III）提供一种新的诊断流程，便于区分轻度和更严重的认知衰退状态。在认知表现评估和评估工具方面存在重要的异质性，部分原因是生活在卢森堡的人口具有多元文化和多语言背景。在应用本建议之前，先介绍一下卢森堡的具体情况，因为它直接影响诊断过程。在卢森堡背景下，缺乏经过验证且适合当地文化的评估工具是诊断任何原因引起的认知缺陷的一个严重问题。因此，特别工作组强烈建议并支持建立一个大型认知表现数据库，从而为一些最基本的诊断工具制定针对特定人群的规范。
