Alzheimer's Diagnostic Guidelines Updated for First Time in Almost 3 Decades- News of the Week
For the first time in 27 years, the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association have updated clinical diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease to focus on earlier stages of the disease and as it gradually changes over many years. The original criteria only focused on later stages, when symptoms of dementia are already evident. The updated guidelines now focus on the earliest preclinical stages, mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Most notably, the guidelines report on the use of imaging and biomarkers in blood and spinal fluid that may help determine whether any changes are due to Alzheimer’s. While this marks a major change in how experts study Alzheimer’s disease, these tests are to be only used for research, and not for diagnosing Alzheimer's in the general public. The new guidelines are published in the most recent issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Posted by Lauren Arnold on April 22, 2011 at 10:57 AM
