Volume 7, Issue 3 p. 263-269
Featured Article

The diagnosis of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease: Recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer's disease

Guy M. McKhann

Corresponding Author

Guy M. McKhann

Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

Corresponding author: Tel.: 410-516-8640; Fax: 410-516-8648.

E-mail address: [email protected]

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David S. Knopman

David S. Knopman

Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

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Howard Chertkow

Howard Chertkow

Department of Neurology, McGill University School of Medicine, Montreal, QC, Canada

Bloomfield Centre for Research in Aging, Lady Davis Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada

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Bradley T. Hyman

Bradley T. Hyman

Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

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Clifford R. Jack Jr.

Clifford R. Jack Jr.

Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

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Claudia H. Kawas

Claudia H. Kawas

Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

Alzheimer Disease Research Center, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

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William E. Klunk

William E. Klunk

Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

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Walter J. Koroshetz

Walter J. Koroshetz

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD, USA

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Jennifer J. Manly

Jennifer J. Manly

Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

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Richard Mayeux

Richard Mayeux

Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

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Richard C. Mohs

Richard C. Mohs

Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA

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John C. Morris

John C. Morris

Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

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Martin N. Rossor

Martin N. Rossor

Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegeneration, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, United Kingdom

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Philip Scheltens

Philip Scheltens

Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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Maria C. Carrillo

Maria C. Carrillo

Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, IL, USA

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Bill Thies

Bill Thies

Alzheimer's Association, Chicago, IL, USA

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Sandra Weintraub

Sandra Weintraub

Department of Psychiatry, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

Department of Neurology, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

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Creighton H. Phelps

Creighton H. Phelps

Alzheimer's Disease Centers Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA

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First published: 22 April 2011
Citations: 9,257

Abstract

The National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association charged a workgroup with the task of revising the 1984 criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. The workgroup sought to ensure that the revised criteria would be flexible enough to be used by both general healthcare providers without access to neuropsychological testing, advanced imaging, and cerebrospinal fluid measures, and specialized investigators involved in research or in clinical trial studies who would have these tools available. We present criteria for all-cause dementia and for AD dementia. We retained the general framework of probable AD dementia from the 1984 criteria. On the basis of the past 27 years of experience, we made several changes in the clinical criteria for the diagnosis. We also retained the term possible AD dementia, but redefined it in a manner more focused than before. Biomarker evidence was also integrated into the diagnostic formulations for probable and possible AD dementia for use in research settings. The core clinical criteria for AD dementia will continue to be the cornerstone of the diagnosis in clinical practice, but biomarker evidence is expected to enhance the pathophysiological specificity of the diagnosis of AD dementia. Much work lies ahead for validating the biomarker diagnosis of AD dementia.