The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease: recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimers Dement. 2011 May;7(3):270-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2011.03.008. Epub 2011 Apr 21.

Abstract

The National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association charged a workgroup with the task of developing criteria for the symptomatic predementia phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD), referred to in this article as mild cognitive impairment due to AD. The workgroup developed the following two sets of criteria: (1) core clinical criteria that could be used by healthcare providers without access to advanced imaging techniques or cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and (2) research criteria that could be used in clinical research settings, including clinical trials. The second set of criteria incorporate the use of biomarkers based on imaging and cerebrospinal fluid measures. The final set of criteria for mild cognitive impairment due to AD has four levels of certainty, depending on the presence and nature of the biomarker findings. Considerable work is needed to validate the criteria that use biomarkers and to standardize biomarker analysis for use in community settings.

Publication types

  • Consensus Development Conference, NIH
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / diagnosis*
  • Biomarkers / analysis
  • Biomarkers / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Cognition Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Diagnostic Imaging / standards*
  • Humans
  • National Institute on Aging (U.S.) / standards*
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic / standards*
  • Societies, Medical / standards*
  • United States

Substances

  • Biomarkers