ABSTRACT
Even if new disease-modifying treatments are developed, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) will continue to be an enormous public health problem. Knowledge of the clinical features and natural history of AD will facilitate planning in response to the increased demands of medical and social resources. In addition, this information will enable clinicians to provide patients and families with a more reliable prediction of the course of the disease for treatment options, as well as nancial and family planning. Furthermore, monitoring the stages of AD is important in recruiting patients for clinical studies at denable levels of severity and for understanding the expected course of decline related to putative treatment eects.
