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Review
. 2017 Jun;16(2):40-47.
doi: 10.12779/dnd.2017.16.2.40. Epub 2017 Jun 30.

Subjective Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer's Disease Spectrum Disorder

Yun Jeong Hong  1 , Jae-Hong Lee  2
Affiliations
Review

Subjective Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer's Disease Spectrum Disorder

Yun Jeong Hong et al. Dement Neurocogn Disord. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) represents subjective complaints about cognitive decline in the absence of objective impairment in neuropsychological tests. Recently, growing evidence has suggested that SCD might be the first symptomatic stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD) spectrum disorders. However, SCD is a heterogeneous condition mixed with AD and non-AD related conditions. Hence, refinement of evidence from previous reports and standardization of the concept about SCD are needed to define appropriate target population with AD pathology. In this article, we review previous studies involving subjects with SCD, the new proposed research criteria, and characteristics of SCD in the aspect of preclinical AD. Biomarker status of SCD is also addressed. Future researches on SCD require a longitudinal follow-up with sufficient biomarker studies and proper outcome measures.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; biomarker; preclinical stage; subjective cognitive decline.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

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