Pathogenic Mechanisms and Bases for Classification

Saturday, 14 February 2015: 10:00 AM-11:30 AM
Room 230C (San Jose Convention Center)
Erin L. Abner, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Senile dementias initially were classified based on clinical presentation, including special characteristics in addition to cognitive loss. Applications of genetics, biochemistry and imaging have permitted analyses of the distribution and nature of central nervous system deposits of pathogenic proteins, neural cell injury and inflammation in dementias. These advances are improving early preclinical diagnosis and specificity of treatments.