[Copying and free drawing by patients with Alzheimer disease of different dementia stages].

In this study we assessed the drawing abilities in 37 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. Drawing abilities (drawing: house, flower, clock; Rey-Osterrieth figure; copying: MMST-figure; Rey-Osterrieth figure) were quantified with different rating schemes and related to other neuropsychological assessments. All patients underwent a positron emission tomography with 18-FDG. Drawing performance was highly correlated with severity of dementia--expressed in MMST scores (r = 0.78; p < 0.0001)--with visuo-spatial short-term memory (r = -0.69; p = 0.001), and writing abilities (r = -0.77; p < 0.0001). The summarized drawing score showed a statistically significant correlation with the rate of temporoparietal glucose metabolism measured with positron emission tomography and 18-FDG (r = 0.39; p = 0.017). In the drawings of AD patients omittings and simplifications were typical, whereas perseverations rarely occurred. In severely demented patients closing-in phenomenons could be described, too. A subgroup of AD patients with visuo-constructive impairment as the leading symptom could not be identified.