Korean J Biol Psychiatry.  2016 May;23(2):48-56. 10.0000/kjbp.2016.23.2.48.

Recent Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

• Lee JJ
• Lee SB

• KMID: 2165127
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/kjbp.2016.23.2.48

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder in which neuronal loss causes cognitive decline and other neuropsychiatric problems. It can be diagnosed based on history, examination, and appropriate objective assessments, using standard criteria such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA). Brain imaging and biomarkers are making progress in the differential diagnoses among the different disorders. The cholinesterase inhibitors, donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors antagonist memantine are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for AD. Recently some acetylcholinesterase inhibitors gained approval for the treatment of severe AD and became available in a higher dose formulation or a patch formulation. Optimal care in AD is multifactorial and it should include early diagnosis and multidisciplinary care with pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions including exercise interventions, cognitive interventions and maintenance of social networks.

Keyword

DSM-5; NINCDS-ADRDA; Cholinesterase inhibitor; Disease modifying therapy; Non-pharmacological intervention

MeSH Terms

Alzheimer Disease*
Biomarkers
Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Communication Disorders
Diagnosis*
Diagnosis, Differential
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Early Diagnosis
Galantamine
Memantine
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neuroimaging
Neurons
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
Rivastigmine
Stroke
United States Food and Drug Administration
Biomarkers
Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Galantamine
Memantine
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
Rivastigmine