Alzheimer’s cases may increase dramatically as a result of new diagnostic guidelines released by the Alzheimer’s Association and the U.S. National Institute of Aging. The new guidelines, released on Tuesday, are the first new guidelines released in nearly 30 years, according to Health.com.
The guidelines now recognize Alzheimer’s as a series of distinct stages. The new guidelines also include “biomarkers” that can help diagnose the disease, but the biomarkers will be used primarily for research purposes.
The Alzheimer’s Association and National Institute of Aging now recognize three stages of Alzheimer’s disease: the distinct, later stage where Alzheimer’s symptoms are clear; mild cognitive impairment (MCI) where mild symptoms are recognizable; and a “preclinical” stage, in which brain changes occur, but symptoms may not be present.
Alzheimer’s diagnoses are expected to increase dramatically because MCI will now be recognized as a diagnosis, according to Marilyn Albert, director of the division of cognitive neuroscience at Johns Hopkins and one of the authors of the guidelines.
Although the new guidelines may lead to more recognition of Alzheimer’s symptoms, the guideline authors insist that the diagnostic process is unlikely to change – for the moment, at least. Diagnosis will still be a collaboration between a doctor, a patient and the patient’s close relatives.
William Thies, a top officer at the Alzheimer’s Association, said there will be “little change in current clinical practice of medicine as applied to Alzheimer’s disease,” but stressed the importance of the new guidelines in the Alzheimer’s research process.
