Commentary on 'Developing a national strategy to prevent dementia: Leon Thal Symposium 2009.' Is dementia among older individuals 75+ a unique disease?

摘要

We have failed to identify a preventable determinant of older age dementia(s), ie 70-75 + , in spite of many years of research. We have, as noted in this report from the 2009 Leon Thal Symposium, been very successful in developing in vivo measurements of the pathophysiology of dementia, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scan, etc, and identification of genetic attributes. Prospective risk predictors based on combinations of cognitive testing, brain MRI and PET scanning, genetics, apolipoprotein E epsilon4 (APOE epsilon4), and likely ce-rebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis are as good at predicting short-term risk of dementia as risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). This new information, unfortunately, will not result in prevention of dementia. [1,2]