Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is one of a number of conditions that can cause the syndrome of dementia. In the absence of a specific and simple test for Alzheimer's disease, the diagnosis is one of exclusion. There are several pitfalls in the diagnostic process, including failure to recognize depressive pseudodementia, focal brain disorders, and acute organomental syndromes. With an increasing proportion of elderly persons in the population, it is even more imperative to pursue accurate diagnosis with vigor, since several of the causes of dementia are treatable, whereas Alzheimer's disease is not.