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Early-versus late-onset Alzheimer's disease: more than age alone
Koedam EL, Lauffer V, van der Vlies AE, van der Flier WM, Scheltens P, Pijnenburg YA.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2010-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia at older age. Although less prevalent before the age of 65 years, it is still the most frequent cause of early-onset dementia followed by frontotemporal dementia. The typical presentation of AD is memory dysfunction, however, presentations with prominent cognitive impairment in other domains besides memory, like prominent apraxia, language problems, or executive dysfunction, may occur and are relatively more common in early-onset AD. In this retrospective descriptive study, we determined the prevalence of non-memory presentations in a large sample of early-onset AD patients compared to late-onset AD. The clinical files of 270 patients with AD starting before the age of 65 years and 90 patients with late-onset AD ( 65 years) were reviewed to assess clinical characteristics. Patients were classified as memory presentation and non-memory presentation according to their clinical presentation. The mean age of the early-onset group was 56 +/- 5 years and 74 +/- 6 years for the late-onset group. A third of the early-onset AD group presented with non-memory symptoms compared to only 6% in the late-onset group (p < 0.001). Within the group with non-memory presentations, apraxia/visuospatial dysfunction was the most prevalent presenting symptom (12%). Patients with early-onset AD often present with a non-memory phenotype, of which apraxia/visuospatial dysfunction is the most common presenting symptom. Atypical presentations of AD should be considered in the clinical differential diagnosis of early-onset dementia.
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APA 7th
Koedam, E. L., Lauffer, V., van der Vlies, A. E., van der Flier, W. M., Scheltens, P., & Pijnenburg, Y. A. (2010). Early-versus late-onset Alzheimer's disease: more than age alone. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2010-1337
Vancouver
Koedam EL, Lauffer V, van der Vlies AE, van der Flier WM, Scheltens P, Pijnenburg YA. Early-versus late-onset Alzheimer's disease: more than age alone. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2010. doi:10.3233/jad-2010-1337. PMID: 20061618.
BibTeX
@article{koedam2010-20061618,
author = {Koedam, E. L. and Lauffer, V. and van der Vlies, A. E. and van der Flier, W. M. and Scheltens, P. and Pijnenburg, Y. A.},
title = {{Early-versus late-onset Alzheimer's disease: more than age alone}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.3233/jad-2010-1337},
pmid = {20061618},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2010-1337}
}
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Key findings
- In this retrospective descriptive study, we determined the prevalence of non-memory presentations in a large sample of early-onset AD patients compared to late-onset AD.
- A third of the early-onset AD group presented with non-memory symptoms compared to only 6% in the late-onset group (p < 0.001).
Why it matters
This study found that a third of early-onset Alzheimer's disease patients presented with non-memory symptoms, compared with only 6% of late-onset patients, with apraxia/visuospatial dysfunction most prevalent. This describes differences in how Alzheimer's disease presents, which may aid recognition, but does not treat, cure, or prevent the disease.
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Study details
- Participants270
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 218 (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 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 270 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 452 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 25.1 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 13.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 19 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 82 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Yolande A.L. Pijnenburg: h-index 83 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: institution h-index 938 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20061618) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
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