UC Irvine

During the past decade there has been a significant improvement in the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimers’ disease (AD). Whereas early series of diagnostic accuracy reported error rates of 30-40% (Martin and Harrison, 1972; Rodron, et al., 1975; and Nott and Fleminger, 1975), more recent studies have verified the correct diagnosis over 90% of the time (Martin, et al., 19871 Morris, et al., 1988). This improvement baa largely resulted from the development of specific criteria for AD which specify inclusion criteria and appropriate evaluation, rather than merely excluding so-called ‘treatable’ dementias and designating the remainder as AD.