Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A new era for dementia epidemiology: Alzheimer’s disease, hardening of arteries, or just old age?

  • COMMENTARY
  • Published:
European Journal of Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Glymour M, Brickman AM, Kivimaki M, Mayeda ER, Chene G, Dufouil C, Manly JJ. Will biomarker-based diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease maximize scientific progress? Evaluating proposed diagnostic criteria. Eur J Epidemiol. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-018-0418-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Jack CR Jr., Bennett DA, Blennow K, et al. NIA-AA research framework: toward a biological definition of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s Dement J Alzheimer’s Assoc. 2018;14(4):535–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2018.02.018.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Ganguli M, Dodge HH, Chen P, Belle S, DeKosky ST. Ten-year incidence of dementia in a rural elderly US community population: the MoVIES project. Neurology. 2000;54(5):1109–16.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gilsanz P, Mayeda ER, Glymour MM, et al. Female sex, early-onset hypertension, and risk of dementia. Neurology. 2017;89(18):1886–93. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000004602.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Cadar D, Lassale C, Davies H, Llewellyn DJ, Batty GD, Steptoe A. Individual and area-based socioeconomic factors associated with dementia incidence in England: evidence from a 12-year follow-up in the English longitudinal study of ageing. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.1012.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Goedert M, Spillantini MG. A century of Alzheimer’s disease. Science. 2006;314(5800):777–81. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1132814.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. McKhann G, Drachman D, Folstein M, Katzman R, Price D, Stadlan EM. Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. Neurology. 1984;34(7):939–44.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Fitzpatrick AL, Kuller LH, Ives DG, et al. Incidence and prevalence of dementia in the cardiovascular health study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004;52(2):195–204.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Lopez OL, McDade E, Riverol M, Becker JT. Evolution of the diagnostic criteria for degenerative and cognitive disorders. Curr Opin Neurol. 2011;24(6):532–41. https://doi.org/10.1097/WCO.0b013e32834cd45b.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Kuller LH, Lopez OL, Jagust WJ, et al. Determinants of vascular dementia in the cardiovascular health cognition study. Neurology. 2005;64(9):1548–52. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.WNL.0000160115.55756.DE.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Schneider JA, Arvanitakis Z, Bang W, Bennett DA. Mixed brain pathologies account for most dementia cases in community-dwelling older persons. Neurology. 2007;69(24):2197–204. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000271090.28148.24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Klunk WE, Engler H, Nordberg A, et al. Imaging brain amyloid in Alzheimer’s disease with Pittsburgh compound-B. Ann Neurol. 2004;55(3):306–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.20009.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Silverberg N, Elliott C, Ryan L, Masliah E, Hodes R. NIA commentary on the NIA-AA research framework: towards a biological definition of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s Dement J Alzheimer’s Assoc. 2018;14(4):576–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2018.03.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mormino EC, Betensky RA, Hedden T, et al. Amyloid and APOE epsilon4 interact to influence short-term decline in preclinical Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2014;82(20):1760–7. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000000431.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Burnham SC, Bourgeat P, Dore V, et al. Clinical and cognitive trajectories in cognitively healthy elderly individuals with suspected non-Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology (SNAP) or Alzheimer’s disease pathology: a longitudinal study. Lancet Neurol. 2016;15(10):1044–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(16)30125-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Jansen WJ, Ossenkoppele R, Knol DL, et al. Prevalence of cerebral amyloid pathology in persons without dementia: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2015;313(19):1924–38. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.4668.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Stern Y. An approach to studying the neural correlates of reserve. Brain Imaging Behav. 2017;11(2):410–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-016-9566-x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Lopez OL, Becker JT, Chang Y, et al. Amyloid deposition and brain structure as long-term predictors of MCI, dementia, and mortality. Neurology. 2018;90(21):e1920–8. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000005549.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Vos SJ, Xiong C, Visser PJ, et al. Preclinical Alzheimer’s disease and its outcome: a longitudinal cohort study. Lancet Neurol. 2013;12(10):957–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(13)70194-7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Yang FM, Grigorenko A, Tommet D, et al. AD pathology and cerebral infarctions are associated with memory and executive functioning one and five years before death. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2013;35(1):24–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2012.740001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Merlini G, Bellotti V. Molecular mechanisms of amyloidosis. N Engl J Med. 2003;349(6):583–96. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra023144.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Forman MS, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM. Neurodegenerative diseases: a decade of discoveries paves the way for therapeutic breakthroughs. Nat Med. 2004;10(10):1055–63. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1113.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Bateman RJ, Xiong C, Benzinger TL, et al. Clinical and biomarker changes in dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s disease. N Engl J Med. 2012;367(9):795–804. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1202753.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Benzinger TL, Blazey T, Jack CR Jr., et al. Regional variability of imaging biomarkers in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013;110(47):E4502–9. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1317918110.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Donahue JE, Johanson CE. Apolipoprotein E, amyloid-beta, and blood–brain barrier permeability in Alzheimer disease. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2008;67(4):261–70. https://doi.org/10.1097/NEN.0b013e31816a0dc8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Kuller LH, Lopez OL. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease: a new direction. The 2010 Jay L. Foster memorial lecture. Alzheimer’s Dement J Alzheimer’s Assoc. 2011;7(5):540–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2011.05.901.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Jackrel ME, Shorter J. Protein-remodeling factors as potential therapeutics for neurodegenerative disease. Front Neurosci. 2017;11:99. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2017.00099.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Goudsmit J. The incubation period of Alzheimer’s disease and the timing of tau versus amyloid misfolding and spreading within the brain. Eur J Epidemiol. 2016;31(2):99–105. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-016-0144-8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Dubnikov T, Cohen E. The emerging roles of early protein folding events in the secretory pathway in the development of neurodegenerative maladies. Front Neurosci. 2017;11:48. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2017.00048.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Grogan M, Scott CG, Kyle RA, et al. Natural history of wild-type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis and risk stratification using a novel staging system. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016;68(10):1014–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2016.06.033.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Gonzalez-Lopez E, Gallego-Delgado M, Guzzo-Merello G, et al. Wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis as a cause of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Eur Heart J. 2015;36(38):2585–94. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehv338.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Sagare A, Deane R, Bell RD, et al. Clearance of amyloid-beta by circulating lipoprotein receptors. Nat Med. 2007;13(9):1029–31. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1635.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Launer LJ, Petrovitch H, Ross GW, Markesbery W, White LR. AD brain pathology: vascular origins? Results from the HAAS autopsy study. Neurobiol Aging. 2008;29(10):1587–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.03.008.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Gottesman RF, Schneider AL, Zhou Y, et al. Association between midlife vascular risk factors and estimated brain amyloid deposition. JAMA. 2017;317(14):1443–50. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.3090.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. George DR, Whitehouse PJ, D’Alton S, Ballenger J. Through the amyloid gateway. Lancet. 2012;380(9858):1986–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Traynor BJ, Rademakers R. Dementia research-A roadmap for the next decade. JAMA Neurol. 2017;74(2):141–2. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.5004.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 130 North Bellefield Avenue, Room 550, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Lewis H. Kuller

Authors
  1. Lewis H. Kuller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lewis H. Kuller.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kuller, L.H. A new era for dementia epidemiology: Alzheimer’s disease, hardening of arteries, or just old age?. Eur J Epidemiol 33, 613–616 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-018-0420-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-018-0420-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation