Journal of Neuropsychology (2015) © 2015 The British Psychological Society www.wileyonlinelibrary.com The free and cued selective reminding test for predicting progression to Alzheimer’s disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A prospective longitudinal study Raquel Lemos 1,2 *, Jo~ao Mar^ oco 3 ,Mario R. Sim~ oes 1 , Beatriz Santiago 4 , Jose Tomas 4 and Isabel Santana 4,5 1 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal 2 Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Biomedical Research in Light and Image, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal 3 Psychology and Health Research Unit (UIPES), Department of Psychological Sciences, ISPA – Instituto Universitario, Lisboa, Portugal 4 Neurology Department of the Coimbra Hospital and University Center, Portugal 5 Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients carry a greater risk of conversion to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Therefore, the International Working Group (IWG) on AD aims to consider some cases of aMCI as symptomatic prodromal AD. The core diagnostic marker of AD is a significant and progressive memory deficit, and the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) was recommended by the IWG to test memory in cases of possible prodromal AD. This study aims to investigate whether the performance on the FCSRT would enhance the ability to predict conversion to AD in an aMCI group. A longitudinal study was conducted on 88 aMCI patients, and neuropsychological tests were analysed on the relative risk of conversion to AD. During follow-up (23.82 months), 33% of the aMCI population converted to AD. An impaired FCSRT TR was significantly associated with the risk of conversion to dementia, with a mean time to conversion of 25 months. The FCSRT demonstrates utility for detecting AD at its prodromal stage, thus supporting its use as a valid clinical marker. Among all types of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common, comprising about 50 to 80% of all the dementia cases. It is an area of significant health concern in the elderly and has become one of the leading causes of death in modern society (Corey- Bloom, 2004; Ferri et al., 2005). AD diagnosis is generally supported by clinical history, neurological examination, and neuropsychological evidence of cognitive dysfunction, especially in the memory domain (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; McKhann et al., 1984, 2011). The clinical interest in establishing an early diagnosis has led to the concept of a transitional state between normal ageing and dementia (i.e., prodromal AD). This stage is widely known as amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI; Petersen et al., 1999) and *Correspondence should be addressed to Raquel Lemos, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colegio Novo, Apartado 6153, 3001-802 Coimbra, Portugal (email: raquelmlemos@hotmail.com). DOI:10.1111/jnp.12075 1