Patient case (clinical description): A 70-year-old man comes to the office accompanied by his wife.  The patient has experienced progressive memory loss over the last years.  He needs help with some of his routine activities, such as paying bills.  The patient's wife says, "He used to be such an independent person, but now he needs help with many things, even finding direction to home!"  Medical history includes hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.  Family history includes Alzheimer disease in his father.  MRI reveals diffuse cortical and hippocampal atrophy. The diagnosis of AD is made using the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) criteria.

Patient's own account: I am a 70-year-old man, and I paid a visit to the doctor with my wife the other day. I noticed that I tend to forget small things and that my memory has decreased over the past few years. I even ask my wife to help me out with my daily routine. I used to be the one paying the bills, but now she has to give me a hand. My wife mentioned to the doctor that I used to be independent and that I tend to forget where we live. I suffer from hypertension, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. My poor dad was suffering from Alzheimer disease, so I hope I'm not going to end the same way! I did an MRI and they found out that some part of my brain was decreasing. I also did an Alzheimer test.

Clinical trial: The Evaluation and Follow-up of Individuals With Memory Disorder

Eligibility criteria:
-  INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

        DEMENTIA PATIENTS:

        Dementia of the Alzheimer type will be defined by a gradual onset with a continuing
        cognitive decline not due to other central nervous system conditions that cause progressive
        deficits in memory. The cognitive decline must include a memory impairment but must also be
        accompanied by at least one other cognitive disturbance such as aphasia, apraxia, agnosia,
        or a disturbance in executive functioning. The deficits must cause significant impairments
        in social or occupational performance and represent a decline in function.

        Longitudinal subjects will be excluded from specific aspects of the study if they have
        contraindications to any of the procedures involved as specified in the Hazards and
        Precautions section. Furthermore, subjects will be excluded if they are not able or willing
        to assign durable power of attorney (DPA) to an appropriate person.

        MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (MCI):

        Is defined operationally as evidence of cognitive difficulty, including memory problems
        which are significant to generate a worry for the individual or surrounding family members
        but not yet sufficient to elicit the diagnosis of possible Alzheimer's disease when
        evaluated by a physician. As in the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, these subjects
        will have a memory complaint and at least one abnormal memory function, but they will still
        fall within normal limits globally.

        AT RISK INDIVIDUALS:

        At risk individuals will be defined by one of the following criteria: (a) having a
        presumptive diagnosis of AD in one or more of their first-degree relatives; or (b)
        belonging to a family with a known or presumed genetic mutation for AD; and (c) testing
        within the normal range on a battery of cognitive tests at the time of baseline evaluation.

        NORMAL CONTROLS:

        They will not have a positive family history of dementia in their first-degree relatives,
        and they will test within the normal range on the battery of cognitive tests listed
        previously.
No condition on gender to be admitted to the trial.
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Subject must be at least 18 Years old.
Subject must be at most 90 Years

Eligibility (NLI label): Entailment