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Review
. 2013 Sep-Oct;110(5):401-5.

Advances in diagnostic testing for Alzheimer disease

Suzanne E Schindler  1 , Jonathan McConathy, Beau M Ances, Marc I Diamond
Affiliations
Review

Advances in diagnostic testing for Alzheimer disease

Suzanne E Schindler et al. Mo Med. 2013 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

The diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia is based primarily on the clinical history and examination, but advances in understanding the pathophysiology of AD have led to new diagnostic methods. When used appropriately, the tests can provide strong positive or negative evidence AD dementia. This article described which patients may benefit from additional testing using Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) biomarkers, amyloid imaging, quantitative structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Athena Diagnostics® is a commercial laboratory that performs the assays that provide a graphical interpretation of the results as consistent with AD.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Following intravenous injection of florbetapir, a PET scan is performed that is interpreted as either positive, indicating moderate to frequent neuritic amyloid plaques, or negative, indicating no to sparse neuritic amyloid plaques.
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References

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