What Is The Mini-Mental State Exam, Or MMSE, And How Is It Used To Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease?

May 4, 2009 -- Question: What is the Mini-Mental State Exam, or MMSE, and how is it used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease?

Answer: So, the MMSE is a screening test that's used by your doctor. It's not used to make a diagnosis, but it's used to determine if there's a problem worthy of further inquiry and evaluation. The test is a paper and pencil test that is scored from 0 to 30. And it's used to measure things like memory, orientation, language items such as naming certain objects, or in drawing small and simple designs.