文档介绍：NEW CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE PUBLISHED FOR FIRST TIME IN 27 YEARS- Research Agensaid, publication of these articles is not yet the end of the process of developing new diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s, but is another major step in the process.”
“The new guidelines reflect today’s understanding of how key changes in the brain lead to Alzheimer’s disease pathology and how they relate to the clinical signs of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease dementia,” said Creighton Phelps, ., Program Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Centers Program at the National Institutes of Health. “We are also beginning to be able to detect these changes at a preclinical stage, long before symptoms appear in many people. With further research on biomarkers, as set forth in the new guidelines, we may ultimately be able to predict who is at risk for development of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s dementia, and who would benefit most as interventions are developed.”
The proposed new Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic guidelines were published online today by Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. Hard copy publication is scheduled for the May 2011 issue of the journal.
Three Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
The current diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s*, for the most part, focus on reliable diagnosis when signs of problems in thinking, learning, and memory are noticeable to an individual, family, and friends. But research tells us that Alzheimer’s likely begins years, maybe even decades, prior to symptoms appearing.
The new articles refer to three phases of Alzheimer’s disease progression over time:
Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease– Measurable changes in biomarkers (such as brain imaging and spinal fluid chemistry) that indicate the very earliest signs of disease, before outward symptoms are visible. Currently, there are no clinical diagnostic criteria for this phase, but the group p