Neue Entwicklungen in der Demenzdiagnostik und -behandlung

New Developments in Diagnosis and Treatment of Dementia. New diagnostic research criteria were established 2007. In the past 8 years the International Working Group (IWG) and the NIA have contributed criteria for the diagnosis of AD that better define clinical phenotypes and integrate biomarkers into staging of the diagnostic process, covering the full staging of the disease. The newest DSM-5 introduces several changes in the diagnostic criteria for dementia and other cognitive disorders. Cognitive disorders that do not cause sufficient impairment to qualify for a diagnosis of dementia are now defined as minor neurocognitive disorders and placed on a spectrum with the more severe conditions (major). Recently developed amyloid-PET-tracers are useful und efficient tools to depict the earliest stages of AD. New F18tracers with a longer half-life of 110 minutes may also serve to directly monitor changes of amyloid load due to new treatment approaches. Dopamine transporter loss has proven to reliably differentiate dementia with Lewy-bodies from other dementias and I-FP-CIT-SPECT remains the “gold standard” for diagnostic imaging of DLB. The concept of dietetic intervention in dementia has drawn increasing attention. New medical foods are strictly intended for therapeutic purposes and the first scientific studies with Acutil® and Souvenaid® show promising results and a very benign side effect profile. J Neurol Neurochir Psychiatr 2015; 16 (3): 111–8.