[Novel methods for dementia diagnostics]

Novel diagnostic methods, such as cerebrospinal fluid-based neurochemical dementia diagnostics (CSF-NDD) and [18F] amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) are meanwhile recommended for specific indications by international guidelines for the improved early and differential diagnostics of multigenic (sporadic) Alzheimer's dementia (AD). In the case of CSF-NDD the German neuropsychiatric guidelines have already been validated on the S3 level of evidence (http://www.DGPPN.de) and the additional consideration of [18F] amyloid-PET in the current update of the guidelines is to be expected. By means of CSF-NDD and/or [18F] amyloid-PET a predictive diagnosis of incipient (preclinical) AD is also possible for patients at high risk for AD who are in prodromal stages, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). As accompanying (secondary) preventive therapy of AD cannot be offered a predictive molecular dementia diagnostics is not recommended by the German neuropsychiatric dementia guidelines (http://www.DGPPN.de). However, novel diagnostic approaches, which offer molecular positive diagnostics of AD have already gained high relevance in therapy research as they allow promising preventive treatment avenues to be validated directly in the clinical trial. Moreover, future blood-based dementia diagnostics by means of multiplex assays is becoming increasingly more feasible; however, so far corresponding proteomic or epigenetic assays could not be consistently validated in independent studies.