Donald Sterling Reportedly Has Early Alzheimer's Disease

Donald Sterling has reportedly been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's disease after failing two mental health tests. INSIDE EDITION has details.

Mental tests given to billionaire Donald Sterling have reportedly concluded that he has early Alzheimer's disease, confirming his estranged wife Shelly's conclusion from four weeks ago when she said, "He has dementia."

INSIDE EDITION asked neurologist Dr. Robert April to show us a mental impairment test similar to the kind Sterling took. Taking the test is 85-year-old Bill Barrett of Philadelphia.

The 80-year-old Sterling could not put the numbers in the right order on a clock, according to the Los Angeles Times.

He also could not spell the word "world" backwards: D-L-R-O-W.

Dr. April asked Barrett to spell 'world' backwards. Barrett answered, "D-L-O-O-W."

Nor did Sterling know what season it was, winter, spring, summer or fall.

And when asked to count down backward from 100 by sevens, Sterling only got as far as 93.

When Dr. April asked Barrett, "One hundred minus seven is?"

"Ninety three," answered Barrett.

"And minus seven from that?" asked Dr. April.

"Eighty six," answered Barrett.

Court papers say the billionaire Sterling became so flustered he stormed out of the room saying: "I can't do it.  I don't want to do it and I have to get back to my meeting."

Following the tests, Sterling was diagnosed with early Alzheimer's, and was "at risk of making potentially serious errors of judgment (and) impulse control ."  [Source: Los Angeles Times]

That cleared the way for Shelly to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.   

Sterling is now fighting the sale. His lawyer is calling the diagnosis of early stage Alzheimer's "nonsense." 

See what a mental health test is like from the National Institute of Health and take it yourself.