Whether you’re a long-time user of the MMSE-2 or you are considering your first purchase of the Mini-Mental State Examination, 2nd Edition™ (MMSE®-2™), now you can view a free,  on-demand training course to learn more about this assessment!

The MMSE-2 allows you to quickly screen for cognitive impairment in individuals 18 to 100 years of age.

This free, interactive course will give you a quick overview of the product, explain what makes it unique, discuss the updates made in this edition, and provide insight into how it was developed. And, best of all, the Training Portal is always available, so you can learn more on your schedule.

To access the Training Portal, use your parinc.com username and password to log in. Don’t have a free account? Register now.

Training courses are also available on the Vocabulary Assessment Scales™ (VAS™), the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™), the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™), the Academic Achievement Battery™ (AAB™), the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile™ (ChAMP™), the Feifer Assessment of Reading™ (FAR™), and many more!

Chronic infection—already known to be associated with heart disease—has been linked to cognitive impairment, according to a recent study by Dr. Mira Katan and colleagues from the department of neurology at Columbia University.  The researchers tested 1,625 subjects, with an average age of 69, using the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE); they also tested each member of the group for their infectious burden (IB), that is, their degree of exposure to five common viruses and bacteria.  The researchers conclude that “A measure of IB associated with stroke risk and atherosclerosis was independently associated with cognitive performance in this multiethnic cohort. Past infections may contribute to cognitive impairment” (Neurology, March 26, 2013).

The link between IB and cognitive impairment was stronger among women, those with lower levels of education, those without health insurance or Medicare, and those who did not exercise.  The reasons for the association are less clear, according the Dr. Katan.  “Another mechanism might be that these pathogens are neurotoxic, directly affecting the nerves,” she said in March 29 New York Times interview.  “We’ve found a common pattern but we cannot prove causality.”

Although further study is needed, the results could lead to identifying individuals who are at risk of cognitive impairment—and taking action to lower that risk.

One of the world’s most popular and trusted assessments of cognitive impairment is now available as a convenient app for smartphones and tablets. Like the paper-and-pencil version, the app can be used to screen for cognitive impairment, to select patients for clinical trials research in dementia treatment, or to track patients’ progress over time.

The MMSE/MMSE-2 app includes a brief instructional video that walks users through the features of the app. In addition to the original MMSE, both standard and brief versions of the MMSE-2 are available, enabling health care providers to choose the version that will suit each client. Scoring is done automatically, and patient records can be uploaded directly to an electronic medical records (EMR) system or e-mailed to appropriate personnel. Equivalent, alternate forms of the MMSE-2 decrease the possibility of practice effects that can occur over serial examinations. The app also includes norms for the MMSE and the MMSE-2, by age and education level.

The MMSE/MMSE-2 app is available to qualified health care professionals from the Apple® App Store^SM (for the iPhone® or iPad®) and from Google Play (for Android™ devices). The app is free—users pay only for administrations, which start at $1.25 each.