A validation study was planned to assess, by comparing the performance of a group of suspected demented (i.e. scoring less than 27 in the Mini Mental State Examination, MMSE) and a control group of normal aged subjects, (a) whether the Cambridge Mental Disorders of the Elderly Examination (CAMDEX) interview maintains in the Italian version the characteristics of sensitivity and specificity established in the English one and (b) whether the concurrent validity of the CAMDEX (with respect to psychometric tests such as MMSE, Geriatric Depression Scale and Extended Dementia Scale, is satisfactory. In this paper some preliminary findings (obtained on 31 of the 50 subjects of each group) are reported. Each subject was examined by the MMSE and other psychometric tests, and, in a separate session, the Italian version of the CAMDEX. This version or an abridged one had to be (re-)administered after 3 or 12 months to one or the other half of both groups. All the suspected demented subjects reached a Cambridge Cognitive Examination (CAMCOG) score under the cut-off point for dementia, while only 8 control subjects scored under this point, with a significant difference in the mean score of the two groups. Moreover, CAMCOG scores were highly correlated with those of the MMSE and, in suspected demented subjects, with those of the Gottfries-Brane-Steen scale. These findings suggest that the sensitivity of the CAMDEX is maintained in the Italian version, while the specificity seems to be less satisfactory. This conclusion needs further support by findings from larger samples and from follow-up studies.