Sometimes we must wait for the therapeutic effects of antidepressant medication before we can establish the diagnosis with finality. Clinical and neuropathological examinations have shown that Alzheimer's disease is not a single entity. Studies of membrane lipids of the brain have shown that myelin lipids are reduced in type 1I while gangliosides are markedly reduced in type 1. An increase of ganglioside GMI seems to be a hallmark for Alzheimer's disease, type 1. The limitations of establishing neuropsychological diagnosis through psychological testing and psychiatric examination by clinicians are discussed, along with the need to define cases of illness in a standardized way for research.
Recording is made of co-morbid states and levels of diagnostic confidence.
Neuropsychology has an important role in a comprehensive psychogeriatric evaluation, especially in the assessment of dementia where the diagnosis is based on behavior. Data from two ongoing Swedish studies of the oldest-old, illustrating some of these issues, are presented. Clinical to Histopathological Correlation of the Diagnosis of Dementia I. Alafuzoff, M.D., Dr. Med. Hospital A-L. Ronnberg, M.D., Dr. Med. Only macroscopic examination by general pathologists was performed on the remaining cases.