Alzheimer's Disease Health Center

New Recommendations for Alzheimer's Diagnosis

What's Next?

The Alzheimer's Association and the National Institute on Aging are launching a web site at www.alz.org/research/diagnostic criteria to solicit input from additional experts.

"The criteria are open for comment until September 2010," Thies says. Then the criteria will be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

As to the effect on patients, Thies expects very little effect short term. "Long term, people will be layered into three groups," he says, depending on their symptoms and diagnosis. Those with mild cognitive impairment, now underrepresented in research studies, will be included in larger numbers, he says.