RESUMEN
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent form of dementia worldwide. The increasing incidence of AD is due to the dramatic rise in life expectancy. Generally, AD shows a multifactorial etiology and manifests itself only at an older age. However, a small percentage of cases have a monogenic cause, are inherited as an autosomal dominant trait, and begin much earlier. In these cases, molecular analysis and genetic consultation may make sense.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedad de Alzheimer/diagnóstico , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/genética , Apolipoproteínas E/genética , Demencia/diagnóstico , Demencia/genética , Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad/genética , Polimorfismo de Nucleótido Simple/genética , Adulto , Femenino , Asesoramiento Genético , Marcadores Genéticos/genética , Humanos , Técnicas de Sonda Molecular , LinajeRESUMEN
Considering the incidence of dementia, the development of procedures that allow correct differential diagnosis is gaining increasing importance. The analysis of spinal fluid from 632 patients, who were admitted with suspected dementia, diagnosed dementia or dementia of unclear etiology, showed that there was high differential diagnostic power for tau protein, but not for beta-amyloid.
Asunto(s)
Péptidos beta-Amiloides/líquido cefalorraquídeo , Demencia/líquido cefalorraquídeo , Demencia/diagnóstico , Servicios de Salud para Ancianos/estadística & datos numéricos , Fragmentos de Péptidos/líquido cefalorraquídeo , Proteínas tau/líquido cefalorraquídeo , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Biomarcadores/líquido cefalorraquídeo , Demencia/epidemiología , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Femenino , Evaluación Geriátrica/métodos , Evaluación Geriátrica/estadística & datos numéricos , Alemania/epidemiología , Humanos , Incidencia , Masculino , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Medición de Riesgo/métodos , Factores de Riesgo , Sensibilidad y EspecificidadRESUMEN
The results from 1000 patients included in a consecutive sample of older persons showing signs of "age-related memory deficits" clearly demonstrate the necessity for a wide spectrum of differential diagnostic competence. The patients included in the study were diagnosed in succession by an interdisciplinary team of psychiatrists, neurologists, geriatric medical specialists, psychologists and gerontologists. The diagnostic process for clarification of DSM-III-R and ICD-10 criteria are discussed in detail. In all, 49.6% of the patients were diagnosed as suffering from dementia of the Alzheimer type, 31% from vascular dementia and 10% from a mixed form. In all, 12.5% of the patients were somatically ill and 31.4% displayed other psychiatric conditions, 50% of which were evaluated as being treatable with psychotherapy. The results are primarily discussed for their relevance to the reality of current treatment.