Alzheimer disease is a chronic, neurodegenerative disorder of the aging population that results in progressive cognitive and behavioral dysfunction. Afflicting more than 6 million Americans and more than 8 million Europeans, Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia and a worldwide concern. It is generally projected that the rate of Alzheimer disease diagnosis and the costs to healthcare worldwide will increase, although a recent report of seven cohort studies including over 49,000 individuals in the United States and Europe indicates a downward trend in new diagnoses.
Although the cause of Alzheimer disease is unknown, there is suspicion of the convergence of environmental and genetic risk factors that, over years, leads to the pathophysiologic changes associated with Alzheimer disease. However, recent scientific research indicates that the biological signs of Alzheimer disease are present 10-20 years before symptom onset, placing new focus on prevention, early recognition, and early treatment strategies. One encouraging recent study found that the accurate discrimination of Alzheimer disease from other neurodegenerative diseases could potentially be achieved via a simple blood test to measure plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 217 (P-tau217). Further studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings.
Do you know current management recommendations for Alzheimer disease? Test your knowledge with this quick quiz.
Medscape © 2020 WebMD, LLC
Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this: Jasvinder P. Chawla. Fast Five Quiz: Alzheimer Disease Management - Medscape - Aug 19, 2020.
Comments