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Dementia

The rising global tide of cognitive impairment

A new study suggests that the application of uniform diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) substantially reduces variation in MCI prevalence estimates. Refinement and harmonization of clinical and research criteria are essential milestones towards improved testing of therapeutic interventions aimed at curbing the epidemic of MCI and dementia.

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Figure 1: Hypothetical staging model of sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD).

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Acknowledgements

H.H. is supported by the AXA Research Fund, the Fondation Université Pierre et Marie Curie, the “Fondation pour la Recherche sur Alzheimer”, Paris, France, and the programme “Investissements d'avenir” (programme number ANR-10-IAIHU-06).

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Correspondence to Harald Hampel.

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H.H. has received lecture honoraria from Biogen and Roche, research grants from Avid and Pfizer, travel funding from Axovant, Eli Lilly and company, GE Healthcare, Takeda and Zinfandel, consultancy fees from Anavex, Axovant, Cytox, GE Healthcare, Jung diagnostics, Takeda and Zinfandel, and participated in scientific advisory boards of Axovant, Cytox, GE Healthcare, Takeda and Zinfandel. He is co-inventor in (partly pending) patent submissions for which he has received no royalties. S.L. has received lecture honoraria from Roche.

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Hampel, H., Lista, S. The rising global tide of cognitive impairment. Nat Rev Neurol 12, 131–132 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2015.250

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