Benign aging or Alzheimer disease?

We show that in benign aging, normally functioning elders have minor neurobehavioral deficits in activities of daily living, and in their neurologic, motor and sensory status; hearing is peripherally and centrally impaired. Also, depression appears in 25%. Gentle physical exercise improves mobility, prevents falls, diminishes pain, wards off depression, reduces mortality, and increases cerebral blood flow and cognition. Diagnosis of Alzheimer disease consists of (1) proof of dementia, (2) meeting established clinical criteria, and (3) staging of severity. We describe dementia, giving tables to identify it and distinguish it from depression, and cite some reversible dementias. We report the accepted clinical inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria for this disease. We show, also with tables, the staging of severity of both dementia and Alzheimer disease as mild, moderate, or severe.