Which test data could help distinguish Lewy body dementia from Alzheimer's disease?

Which test data could help distinguish Lewy body dementia from Alzheimer's disease?

• A. CVLT-2 DRFR
• B. BVMT-R IR
• C. JLO
• D. WMS-IV Logical Memory Recognition

Answer: (A)

Memory profile differences between Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia drive this distinction. In Alzheimer's, the memory problem is marked by encoding and consolidation deficits, so when you teach someone a list and test them after a delay with no cues, they show a prominent drop in delayed free recall. That pattern—poor delayed verbal recall with relatively better recognition—is classic for AD and helps separate it from Lewy body dementia, where early cognitive weaknesses are more prominent in attention, executive function, and visuospatial skills rather than pure verbal memory after a delay. The specific test data from a verbal list learning task’s delayed free recall (how much of the learned list a person can recall after a delay without cues) therefore offers the strongest differential signal between the two conditions among the options. It targets the memory encoding/consolidation system that is typically more impaired in Alzheimer's than in Lewy body dementia. The other tests assess visuospatial ability (which tends to be more affected in Lewy body dementia) and recognition memory, which can be variably affected in both conditions and thus provide less clean separation early on.

Memory profile differences between Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia drive this distinction. In Alzheimer's, the memory problem is marked by encoding and consolidation deficits, so when you teach someone a list and test them after a delay with no cues, they show a prominent drop in delayed free recall. That pattern—poor delayed verbal recall with relatively better recognition—is classic for AD and helps separate it from Lewy body dementia, where early cognitive weaknesses are more prominent in attention, executive function, and visuospatial skills rather than pure verbal memory after a delay.

The specific test data from a verbal list learning task’s delayed free recall (how much of the learned list a person can recall after a delay without cues) therefore offers the strongest differential signal between the two conditions among the options. It targets the memory encoding/consolidation system that is typically more impaired in Alzheimer's than in Lewy body dementia.

The other tests assess visuospatial ability (which tends to be more affected in Lewy body dementia) and recognition memory, which can be variably affected in both conditions and thus provide less clean separation early on.