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Semin Neurol 2000; 20(4): 447-454
DOI: 10.1055/s-2000-13177
Copyright © 2000 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel.: +1(212) 584-4662

Alzheimer's Disease and Its Focal Variants

Joel H. Kramer, Bruce L. Miller
  • University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, California
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Publikationsdatum:
03. März 2004 (online)

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ABSTRACT

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in elderly individuals. Although the diagnosis of AD requires pathological confirmation, several common clinical features of AD have been identified. These include insidious onset, gradual progression, medial temporal atrophy, temporoparietal hypoperfusion, early and prominent deficits in episodic memory and mental tracking, and later deficits in semantic memory. These characteristic features of AD have enabled excellent in vivo diagnostic sensitivity. It has become increasingly clear, however, that AD is a heterogeneous disorder. The left and right cerebral hemispheres can be affected to varying degrees, and variability on the anterior-posterior axis has also been reported. AD can also present as a focal degenerative disease, and clinicians must be aware that there may be diagnostic overlap between AD, primary progressive aphasia, posterior cortical atrophy, corticobasal degeneration, and frontotemporal dementia.

KEYWORD

Alzheimer's disease - primary progressive aphasia - frontotemporal dementia - posterior cortical atrophy - focal variants - corticobasal degeneration

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