Imaging biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases

One way to think about neurodegenerative diseases is to divide them into those that are and those that are not typically associated with dementia. For example Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is while amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or certain movement disorders are typically not associated with dementia. This talk will focus on neurodegeneration that is associated with dementia in the elderly. There are several neurodegenerative disorders that fall into this category including fronto temporal lobar degeneration and dementia with Lewy bodies. However by far the most common neurodegenerative disorder associated with dementia in the elderly is AD, and that will be the focus of this talk. There are several reasons for this emphasis on AD. The estimated current prevalence of AD in the United States is 4.5 million individuals. The incidence disease doubles every 5 years after age 60 resulting in an estimated prevalence by the year 2050 of 14 million individuals in the US alone. AD is the most common illness leading to nursing home placement. Care for affected individuals currently costs up to 140 billion dollars per year in health care, nursing home, and lost productivity. For the above reasons as well as recent basic advances illuminating the mechanisms underlying AD, the pharmaceutical industry has focused increasingly on this disorder. Consequently, a focus on AD is highly appropriate in a discussion of biomarkers for neurodegenerative disease.