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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
Guy M. McKhann, David A. Drachman, Marshall F. Folstein, Robert Katzman, Donald D. Price, Emanuel M. Stadlan. Neurology, 2011-07-25
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Clinical criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease include insidious onset and progressive impairment of memory and other cognitive functions. There are no motor, sensory, or coordination deficits early in the disease. The diagnosis cannot be determined by laboratory tests. These tests are important primarily in identifying other possible causes of dementia that must be excluded before the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease may be made with confidence. Neuropsychological tests provide confirmatory evidence of the diagnosis of dementia and help to assess the course and response to therapy. The criteria proposed are intended to serve as a guide for the diagnosis of probable, possible, and definite Alzheimer's disease; these criteria will be revised as more definitive information becomes available.
Key findings
- There are no motor, sensory, or coordination deficits early in the disease.
- The diagnosis cannot be determined by laboratory tests.
- These tests are important primarily in identifying other possible causes of dementia that must be excluded before the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease may be made with confidence.
- Neuropsychological tests provide confirmatory evidence of the diagnosis of dementia and help to assess the course and response to therapy.
- The criteria proposed are intended to serve as a guide for the diagnosis of probable, possible, and definite Alzheimer's disease; these criteria will be revised as more definitive information becomes available.
Why it matters
This report presents clinical criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, including insidious onset and progressive impairment of memory and other cognitive functions. It is a diagnostic criteria paper and does not directly address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 42/100
Published in a leading specialty 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 times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited and institution's track record, so those were left out: it earned 29 of the 69 points we could judge it on, which is 42 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| 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 | 1 / 5 | 2011 — within 20 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 | — / 7 | Citation count not trusted: 73 of 129 library studies citing it were published more than a year before it - a sign OpenAlex merged several works under this DOI — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | Citation count not trusted (see above) — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | Citation count not trusted (see above) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Library citations not trusted (see above) — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | Citation count not trusted (see above) — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Emanuel M. Stadlan: h-index 12 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 0 institution(s) in 0 countries — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 29 / 69 | Scored on 14 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 29 of the 69 points we could judge it on is 42 out of 100. |
| Total | 42 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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
McKhann, G. M., Drachman, D. A., Folstein, M. F., Katzman, R., Price, D. D., & Stadlan, E. M. (2011). 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. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000400650.92875.cf
Vancouver
McKhann GM, Drachman DA, Folstein MF, Katzman R, Price DD, 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. 2011. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000400650.92875.cf.
BibTeX
@article{mckhann2011-ce9819c1,
author = {McKhann, Guy M. and Drachman, David A. and Folstein, Marshall F. and Katzman, Robert and Price, Donald D. and Stadlan, Emanuel M.},
title = {{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}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000400650.92875.cf},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000400650.92875.cf}
}
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