The Mini-Mental State Test and computerized tomography.

In order to evaluate the clinical usefulness of the Mini-Mental State (MMS) test, the authors had 63 patients complete the test after undergoing computerized tomographic (CT) scans of the brain. Patients with positive CT scans scored significantly lower than those with negative CT scans. Further analysis showed that cerebral atrophy was more closely related to cognitive impairment than focal cerebral lesions only. The authors conclude that the MMS can discriminate organicity in some instances but that further refinement and modification of its subtests are needed for maximum usefulness.