Home › Research › Caregiving
Alzheimer's disease
Soria Lopez JA, González HM, Léger GC.. Handbook of clinical neurology, 2019-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia refers to a particular onset and course of cognitive and functional decline associated with age together with a particular neuropathology. It was first described by Alois Alzheimer in 1906 about a patient whom he first encountered in 1901. Modern clinical diagnostic criteria have been developed, and criteria have also been proposed to recognize preclinical (or presymptomatic) stages of the disease with the use of biomarkers. The primary neuropathology was described by Alzheimer, and in the mid-1980s subsequently evolved into a more specific neuropathologic definition that recognizes the comorbid neuropathologies that frequently contribute to clinical dementia. Alzheimer's disease is now the most common form of neurodegenerative dementia in the United States with a disproportionate disease burden in minority populations. Deficits in the ability to encode and store new memories characterizes the initial stages of the disease. Subsequent progressive changes in cognition and behavior accompany the later stages. Changes in amyloid precursor protein (APP) cleavage and production of the APP fragment beta-amyloid (Aβ) along with hyperphosphorylated tau protein aggregation coalesce to cause reduction in synaptic strength, synaptic loss, and neurodegeneration. Metabolic, vascular, and inflammatory changes, as well as comorbid pathologies are key components of the disease process. Symptomatic treatment offers a modest, clinically measurable effect in cognition, but disease-modifying therapies are desperately needed.
Key findings
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia refers to a particular onset and course of cognitive and functional decline associated with age together with a particular neuropathology.
Why it matters
This 2019 handbook review explains what Alzheimer's dementia is: a decline in thinking and daily function that usually begins with trouble forming new memories, linked to amyloid and tau changes in the brain that the authors describe alongside metabolic, vascular, inflammatory and other co-occurring brain changes. It notes the disease falls disproportionately on minority populations in the United States, and that treatment available then gave only a "modest, clinically measurable effect" on cognition. It is a background overview and does not test any treatment, cure or prevention.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Caregiving →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, so that was left out: it earned 49 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 51 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Handbook of clinical neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 786 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 87.3 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 259.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 367 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Gabriel C. Léger: h-index 26 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California San Diego: institution h-index 1,852 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31753135) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 49 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 49 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 51 out of 100. |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Soria Lopez, J. A., González, H. M., & Léger, G. C. (2019). Alzheimer's disease. Handbook of clinical neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-804766-8.00013-3
Vancouver
Soria Lopez JA, González HM, Léger GC. Alzheimer's disease. Handbook of clinical neurology. 2019. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-804766-8.00013-3. PMID: 31753135.
BibTeX
@article{sorialopez2019-31753135,
author = {Soria Lopez, J. A. and González, H. M. and Léger, G. C.},
title = {{Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Handbook of clinical neurology},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1016/b978-0-12-804766-8.00013-3},
pmid = {31753135},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-804766-8.00013-3}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 81.
Later studies that cite this one
6 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.