Changing concepts and new definitions for Alzheimer’s disease
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199655946.003.0032
A definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease has until recently required both the presence of dementia during life and histological confirmation, almost always at autopsy. Recently there has been a major effort to advance the diagnostic criteria. A shared goal has been to enable a diagnostic framework that covers the full stages of the. International groups of experts have contributed criteria that refine clinical phenotypes, integrate biomarkers into the diagnostic process, and allow earlier stages of disease to be identified reliably. It is now possible to define a new conceptual framework that supports recognition of AD prior to the onset of dementia with integration of biomarkers of Alzheimer’s pathology. Although these criteria are mainly intended for research where a high diagnostic specificity is a requirement, they are increasingly being used in expert centres to aid the diagnosis of young-onset or unusual presentations of AD where biomarkers may increase diagnostic accuracy.
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