Aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease

Research in the field of aging and dementia is moving forward at a rapid pace, in both basic biology of dementing disorders and clinical investigations. These two approaches to research on aging and dementia need to advance in parallel, such that when work on the pathophysiology of these disorders is translated into therapeutic practice, the appropriately characterized clinical cohorts will be available for therapeutic trials of these treatment strategies. Significant challenges remain. The course of cognition in normal aging needs to be characterized. Clinical cohorts need to be assembled and followed longitudinally to allow investigators to study normal aging and the earliest transition into impairment. The role of neuroimaging must be clarified and biomarkers of disease must be developed. Much work remains to be done, but if the progress of the previous decade has been indicative of the future, the outlook is bright.