Abstract
This chapter reviews the epidemiology and clinical features of the cognitive disorder due to Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementing illness. The most potent risk factors for the development of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease are advancing age and a family history of dementing illness. The disease becomes increasingly more common after the age of 70. The course is insidious and gradually progressive. The diagnosis of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease is established using standard clinical criteria. Although biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease are not yet part of the routine diagnostic approach, advances in the past decade have moved the field closer to incorporating biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease into diagnosis. Therapies for Alzheimer's disease are currently limited to palliative approaches.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Neurodegeneration |
| Subtitle of host publication | The Molecular Pathology of Dementia and Movement Disorders: Second Edition |
| Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
| Pages | 37-50 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781405196932 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 21 2011 |
Keywords
- Alzheimer's disease
- Dementia
- Epidemiology
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Natural history
- Risk factors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine