European Medical Journal Neurology (Aug 2015)
Update on Alzheimer’s Disease
Abstract
With the disproportionate growth of the elderly population, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as the most common cause of dementia, has become a major public health and socio-economic problem of our time. Updated consensus criteria for clinical diagnosis and new biomarkers have increased the diagnostic accuracy to over 90%, with a sensitivity versus other dementias of around 85% and a specificity of up to 78%, although a definite diagnosis depends on neuropathological examination. However, due to overlap between dementing disorders and frequent concurrence of multiple pathologies in the aged brain, both clinical and post-mortem studies entail biases that affect their validity. Harmonised interdisciplinary approaches are required to increase the accuracy and reproducibility of AD diagnosis as a basis for neuroprotection and efficient treatment. Preventative measures can minimise risk factors and confounding diseases, whereas anti-dementive treatment with drugs and non-pharmacological interventions can currently only delay the progression of the clinical course without causal effects. Better early diagnosis, active immunotherapies, and disease-modifying measures are the most important challenges for modern neurosciences.
