Age-associated memory impairment: diagnostic criteria and treatment strategies.

In general, then, the term Age-Associated Memory Impairment (AAMI) has been adopted to describe healthy persons over 50 years of age who have experienced memory loss since early life, but who are not demented. Specific diagnostic criteria have been proposed for AAMI and these criteria are now being applied in clinical studies, including a number of pharmacologic treatment studies. Many of these latter studies are supported by evidence from preclinical studies suggesting that age-related memory deficits in animals can be pharmacologically altered. This evidence gives reason to hope that an important behavioral deficit associated with aging may be controlled or corrected through drug treatment. The development of such a treatment would be an accomplishment of immense clinical and scientific significance.