Diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Recent advances in biomarkers and genetic studies have indicated that the pathophysiological process of Alzheimer's disease (AD) takes place many years before the onset of dementia. Based on these findings, the diagnostic criteria for AD established in 1984 have recently been updated by the National Institute on Aging/Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) incorporating biomarkers into it. The expert workgroup proposed three phases of AD progression over time- AD dementia, mild cognitive impairment due to AD, and preclinical AD. The American Psychiatric Association has published the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, in which dementia has been renamed a major neurocognitive disorder, and a concept of mild neurocognitive disorder has been introduced. These new guidelines are expected to improve clinical diagnosis and to help establish new therapeutic intervention for AD in the future.