Preclinical Disease or Risk Factor? Alzheimer's Disease as a Case Study of Changing Conceptualizations of Disease.
J Med Philos
; 48(4): 322-334, 2023 06 20.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37202835
ABSTRACT
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) provides an excellent case study to investigate emerging conceptions of health, disease, pre-disease, and risk. Two scientific working groups have recently reconceptualized AD and created a new category of asymptomatic biomarker positive persons, who are either said to have preclinical AD, or to be at risk for AD. This article examines how prominent theories of health and disease would classify this condition healthy or diseased? Next, the notion of being "at risk"-a state somewhere in-between health and disease-is considered from various angles. It is concluded that medical-scientific developments urge us to let go of dichotomous ways of understanding disease, that the notion of "risk," conceptualized as an increased chance of getting a symptomatic disease, might be a useful addition to our conceptual framework, and that we should pay more attention to the practical usefulness and implications of the ways in which we draw lines and define concepts.
Mots clés
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Maladie d'Alzheimer
Type d'étude:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limites:
Humans
Langue:
En
Journal:
J Med Philos
Année:
2023
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
Pays-Bas