Purpose of review: While we adhere to traditional misconceptions regarding the nature of age-associated neurodegenerative, and vascular and other brain changes, we will not re-design our research projects, and we will not reconsider and improve our pragmatic diagnostic and therapeutic approach.
Recent findings: This review focuses (1) on the continuum of cognitive deficits from mild cognitive impairment to manifest dementia, (2) on the spectrum of neurodegenerative, vascular and other cerebral co-morbidity, and (3) on some reversible examples of the rare outliers (limbic encephalitis, Hashimoto encephalopathy) not to be included in the common severity and cerebral co-morbidity spectrum of senile cognitive impairment.
Summary: We will only be more informed if we accept appropriate concepts and draw the right conclusions. Important new research has not yet filtered into the minds of dementia researchers specializing in 'normal ageing' or 'mild cognitive impairment', 'Alzheimer's disease' or 'dementia with Lewy bodies', tauopathies or synucleopathies, etc.