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Cited by 130Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Asymptomatic Alzheimers Disease: A Prodrome or a State of Resilience?

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Driscoll, I., Troncoso, J.·2011·Current Alzheimer Research
DOI 10.2174/156720511795745348PMC PMC3286868
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Abstract

Neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the neuropathological hallmarks of AD, are not limited to individuals with dementia. These pathologic changes can also be present in the brains of cognitively normal older adults – a condition we defined as Asymptomatic AD (ASYMAD). Although it remains unclear whether these individuals would remain clinically normal with longer survival, they seem to be able to compensate for or delay the appearance of dementia symptoms. Here, we provide a historical background and highlight the combined clinical, pathologic and morphometric evidence related to ASYMAD. Understanding the nature of changes during this apparently asymptomatic state may shed light on the mechanisms that forestall the progression of the disease and allow for maintenance of cognitive health, an important area of research that has been understudied relative to the identification of risks and pathways to negative health outcomes. Keywords: Normal aging, MCI, AD, neuropathology, beta-amyloid, neuronal hypertrophy, asymptomatic AD, autopsy series, Hypertrophy, cerebral regions, dopaminergic nigral neurons, ventromedial mesencephalic tegmentum

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  • AsymAD individuals have neuritic plaque and NFTs Braak stages at autopsy comparable to those of AD subjects with dementia.

    “These individuals have neuritic plaque and NFTs Braak stages at autopsy comparable to those of AD subjects with dementia, and the literature refers to them as resilient [31], Nondemented with AD Neuropathology (NDAN) [83], or asymptomatic AD (AsymAD) [22, 42].”

    From Enhanced microglial dynamics and a paucity of tau seeding in the amyloid plaque microenvironment contribute to cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease (2024) · cites this paper as [22]

    The ASYMPTOMATIC AD section reports plaque counts in cognitively preserved individuals comparable to those commonly seen in people with dementia, and says that NFTs can occur in cognitively normal older adults. The DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA section explains Braak scores, but the passages do not establish that AsymAD individuals have NFT Braak stages comparable to those of people with dementia. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Aged individuals can harbor a high burden of AD brain lesions at autopsy while remaining cognitively intact, indicating resilience to AD pathology.

    “several studies have revealed the existence of aged individuals harboring a high burden of brain lesions at autopsy while remaining cognitively intact, indicating resilience to AD pathology [3, 7, 21, 22, 56, 57, 68, 76, 78, 96].”

    From Enhanced microglial dynamics and a paucity of tau seeding in the amyloid plaque microenvironment contribute to cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease (2024) · cites this paper as [22]

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Authors
Driscoll, I., & Troncoso, J.
Affiliations
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
ORCID
Driscoll, I.
Venue
Current Alzheimer Research
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Published
2011-06-01
Volume
8
Issue
4
Pages
330-335
ISSN
1567-2050 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2174/156720511795745348
PMC
PMC3286868
OpenAlex
W2031407059
Cited by
130
References
20
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 5
FWCI
4.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Current Alzheimer Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Aging (P50AG005146)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
asymptomatic Alzheimer's disease, prodromal Alzheimer's disease, cognitive resilience, normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid-beta, neuronal hypertrophy, cognitive compensation, autopsy series, cognitive health
MeSH terms
Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Cognition Disorders, Humans, Neurofibrillary Tangles, History, 20th Century, Plaque, Amyloid

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