ABSTRACT
During the first two decades of the life of this Journal (ADAD) much progress has been made in our understanding of Alzheimer disease (AD). Advancing knowledge, however, has been accompanied by increasing appreciation of the complexity and heterogeneity of this disease. Prevention and cure continue to elude us as the number of afflicted and the cost of their care continues to increase. New techniques together with long-term prospective follow-up studies, as well as utilization of data accumulated in existing data bases, are needed to move the field forward. We expect that during the next two decades, as new information accrues, reports published in ADAD will continue to contribute to the dissemination and elucidation of critical issues in Alzheimer research.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/history , Biomedical Research/history , Periodicals as Topic/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , United StatesABSTRACT
The relative importance of age at onset, survival duration past testing, symptom duration, and education as predictors of cognitive performance was assessed in 50 patients with moderately severe dementia of the Alzheimer type. Survival past testing and duration of symptoms prior to assessment emerged as the strongest predictors of cognitive performance, and education effects were noted for several verbal tests. A robust association emerged between cognitive impairment and nearness to death. This association, first noted in studies of "normal" aging, requires further exploration. Age-at-onset effects, with poorer performance in early-onset disease, were observed only for a few measures.
