This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Background: No previous autopsy-controlled, prospective, and population-based studies are available on the prevalence of AD in very elderly people.
Objective: To study the point prevalence of neuropathologically defined AD in a population of people at least 85 years of age, stratified according to their APOE genotype.
Methods: A population-based sample of 532 (of a total population of 601) elderly Finnish individuals, aged 85 years or more, were clinically tested for dementia in 1991 (with follow-up studies of the survivors in 1994, 1996, and 1999) and genotyped for APOE. An autopsy involving neuropathologic diagnosis of AD according to modified consensus criteria was performed in 118 of 198 deceased subjects who had been demented on April 1, 1991, and in 62 of 201 nondemented individuals.
Results: The prevalence of neuropathologically defined AD was 33%, whereas the prevalence of clinically diagnosed AD was 16%. There was a highly significant (p < 0.001) association between the APOE ε4 allele and AD: Sixty-three percent of APOE ε4 carriers and 20% of noncarriers had neuropathologic AD. The respective figures in subjects aged 90 years or more were 71 and 22%.
Conclusions: The prevalence of neuropathologically defined AD is higher than that reported in most previous studies based on clinical diagnosis. The discrepancy between the neuropathologic and clinical diagnoses of AD in very elderly subjects may affect the results of population-based studies. The APOE genotype has a strong effect on the prevalence of neuropathologically defined AD, even after 90 years of age.
- Received August 3, 2000.
- Accepted February 13, 2001.
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Alert Me
Recommended articles
Accuracy of clinical criteria for AD in the Honolulu–Asia Aging Study, a population-based study
APOE ε4 does not predict mortality, cognitive decline, or dementia in the oldest old
APOE ε2 is associated with intact cognition but increased Alzheimer pathology in the oldest old
Apolipoprotein E genotype and in vivo amyloid burden in middle-aged Hispanics