New clinical criteria for the Alzheimer's disease spectrum.

New criteria for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) were recently published. These criteria cover the entire spectrum of AD including dementia due to AD, mild cognitive impairment due to AD, and preclinical AD. A major feature of the new criteria is that they distinguish between the clinical characteristics of the disorder and the pathological features. Earlier criteria were based on clinical features alone. The new criteria include the use of imaging and other biomarkers to aid in diagnosis. The criteria regarding clinical features are currently being used in practice; the criteria regarding biomarkers still need to be validated.