Hippocampal dysfunction is associated with early clinical signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Due to the limited availability or invasiveness of current biomarkers, the AD diagnosis is usually based on cognitive assessment and structural brain imaging. The recent study by Lalive and colleagues examined the specificity of brain morphometry for the AD diagnosis in a memory clinic cohort with hippocampal-type amnestic syndrome. The results indicate that memory deficits and hippocampal atrophy are similar in AD and non-AD patients, highlighting their low diagnostic specificity. These findings challenge the traditional AD diagnosis and underscore the need for biomarkers to differentiate specific neuropathological entities.

Memory Clinic Department of Neurology 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University and Motol University Hospital Prague Czechia

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Lalive HM, Griffa A, Carlier S, et al.. Amnestic syndrome in memory clinics: similar morphological brain patterns in older adults with and without Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2024; 100: 333–343. PubMed

Waldemar G, Dubois B, Emre M, et al.. Recommendations for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders associated with dementia: EFNS guideline. Eur J Neurol 2007; 14: e1–e26. PubMed

Porsteinsson AP, Isaacson RS, Knox S, et al.. Diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s disease: clinical practice in 2021. J Prev Alzheimers Dis 2021; 8: 371–386. PubMed

Gainotti G, Quaranta D, Vita MG, et al.. Neuropsychological predictors of conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2014; 38: 481–495. PubMed

Vyhnálek M, Marková H, Laczó J, et al.. Assessment of memory impairment in early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Curr Alzheimer Res 2019; 16: 975–985. PubMed

Devanand DP, Pradhaban G, Liu X, et al.. Hippocampal and entorhinal atrophy in mild cognitive impairment: prediction of Alzheimer disease. Neurology 2007; 68: 828–836. PubMed

Park HY, Park CR, Suh CH, et al.. Diagnostic performance of the medial temporal lobe atrophy scale in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Radiol 2021; 31: 9060–9072. PubMed

Beach TG, Monsell SE, Phillips LE, et al.. Accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer disease at National Institute on Aging Alzheimer Disease Centers, 2005-2010. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2012; 71: 266–273. PubMed PMC

Gurnani AS and Gavett BE. The differential effects of Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body pathology on cognitive performance: a meta-analysis. Neuropsychol Rev 2017; 27: 1–17. PubMed

Mansoor Y, Jastrzab L, Dutt S, et al.. Memory profiles in pathology or biomarker confirmed Alzheimer disease and frontotemporal dementia. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 2015; 29: 135–140. PubMed PMC

Dubois B, Feldman HH, Jacova C, et al.. Research criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: revising the NINCDS–ADRDA criteria. Lancet Neurol 2007; 6: 734–746. PubMed

Vyhnalek M, Jester DJ, Andel R, et al.. Contribution of memory tests to early identification of conversion from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to dementia. J Alzheimers Dis 2022; 88: 1397–1409. PubMed PMC

Vyhnalek M, Nikolai T, Andel R, et al.. Neuropsychological correlates of hippocampal atrophy in memory testing in nondemented older adults. J Alzheimers Dis 2014; 42(Suppl 3): S81–S90. PubMed

Lan F, Roquet D, Dalton MA, et al.. Exploring graded profiles of hippocampal atrophy along the anterior-posterior axis in semantic dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Aging 2024; 135: 70–78. PubMed

Bocchetta M, Iglesias JE, Scelsi MA, et al.. Hippocampal subfield volumetry: differential pattern of atrophy in different forms of genetic frontotemporal dementia. J Alzheimers Dis 2018; 64: 497–504. PubMed PMC

Khadhraoui E, Müller SJ, Hansen N, et al.. Manual and automated analysis of atrophy patterns in dementia with Lewy bodies on MRI. BMC Neurol 2022; 22: 114. PubMed PMC

Woodworth DC, Sheikh-Bahaei N, Scambray KA, et al.. Dementia is associated with medial temporal atrophy even after accounting for neuropathologies. Brain Commun 2022; 4: fcac052. PubMed PMC

Vos SJB, Delvenne A, Jack CR, et al.. The clinical importance of suspected non-Alzheimer disease pathophysiology. Nat Rev Neurol 2024; 20: 337–346. PubMed

Crary JF, Trojanowski JQ, Schneider JA, et al.. Primary age-related tauopathy (PART): a common pathology associated with human aging. Acta Neuropathol 2014; 128: 755–766. PubMed PMC

Nelson PT, Dickson DW, Trojanowski JQ, et al.. Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE): Consensus working group report. Brain 2019; 142: 1503–1527. PubMed PMC

Nelson PT, Schneider JA, Jicha GA, et al.. When Alzheimer’s is LATE: why does it matter? . Ann Neurol 2023; 94: 211–222. PubMed PMC

Jack CR, Bennett DA, Blennow K, et al.. NIA-AA Research Framework: Toward a biological definition of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Dement 2018; 14: 535–562. PubMed PMC

Jack CR, Andrews JS, Beach TG, et al.. Revised criteria for diagnosis and staging of Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s Association Workgroup. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20: 5143–5169. PubMed PMC

Frisoni GB, Festari C, Massa F, et al.. European intersocietal recommendations for the biomarker-based diagnosis of neurocognitive disorders. Lancet Neurol 2024; 23: 302–312. PubMed

Knopman DS. For a dementia diagnosis, clinical acumen must precede biomarkers. Lancet Neurol 2024; 23: 225–226. PubMed