Alzheimer's Redefined Offers Earlier Detection Criteria

New medical guidelines were released last week to reflect current evidence that Alzheimer's disease attacks the brain years before the symptoms of dementia. The guidelines, updated for the first time in 27 years, were released by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association.  The guidelines divide Alzheimer's into three phases: (1) when dementia has developed, (2) when mild problems emerge, yet, daily functions are still performed, and (3) when no symptoms are present but changes are occurring in the brain. One of the most important additions to the guidelines is the inclusion of methods like brain scans and tests of cerebral spinal fluid, physiological indicators that indicate if someone is likely to develop dementia.  William Thies, the chief medical and scientific officer for the Alzheimer's Association explained that the goal of the guidelines is "extending the range of our ability to investigate this disease and eventually find the treatment that is going to be so necessary to avoid the epidemic of Alzheimer's disease that we see facing us over the next 40 years."  The guidelines improve diagnosis criteria and distinguish Alzheimer's from vascular, frontotemporal, and Lewy body dementias.  A bill introduced last month in Congress aims to make Alzheimer's diagnosis a billable expense under Medicare. Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts and a sponsor of the bill said, "Oftentimes family members notice the symptoms in their loved ones, but it's only years later that they get diagnosed or understand what resources are available." For more information, visit: 

The New York Times        

National Institute on Aging 

Alzheimer's Association ________________________________________________________________________