How do you differentiate cognitive impairment from normal age-related cognitive decline?
Especially in the era of novel AD biomarkers (blood-based, CSF, PET scans), AD treatments, and new definitions of Alzheimer's (Alz Association 2025) - possible to develop "preclinical AD" with just a biomarker.
Any resources for how to counsel patients in this new era would be very helpful...
2 Answers
Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Geriatric Medicine · University Of California (San Francisco)
Answered on
Dr. @Dr. First Last's answer is right on target.
I have a couple of additional tips when taking a history.
First: normal cognitive decline would include certain features and not others. Normal aging typically leads to slower processing, more effort with multitasking and learning something new, and m...
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Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Geriatric Medicine · Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Answered on
It can be tricky to differentiate normal aging from true cognitive impairment. I think the key ingredients are objective cognitive testing and bringing in a trusted informant.
When a patient or a carepartner expresses a memory concern, or you wonder about memory during a routine evaluation, the firs...
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