title: [Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in Brazil: diagnostic criteria and auxiliary tests. Recommendations of the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology].
abstract: This panel had the objective of recommending evidence-based guidelines for the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Brazil. Guidelines from other countries and papers on the diagnosis of AD in Brazil were systematically evaluated in a thorough research of PUBMED and LILACS databases. The panel concluded that dementia diagnosis should be based on the DSM criteria and AD diagnosis, on the McKhann et al. criteria (NINCDS-ADRDA). The recommended auxiliary tests are: blood cell count, blood urea nitrogen, serum levels of creatinine, free-thyroxine, thyroid-stimulant hormone, albumin, hepatic enzymes, vitamin B12 and calcium, serological tests for syphilis and, for those aged less than 60 years, serological tests for HIV. Cerebrospinal fluid examination is recommended in special situations. Computed tomography (or preferentially magnetic resonance imaging, when available) is mandatory and has the main objective of excluding other diseases. SPECT and EEG are optional diagnostic methods.
authors.affiliation: Departamento Científico de Neurologia Cognitiva e do Envelhecimento, Academia Brasileira de Neurologia, Brazil. nitrini@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nitrini
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caramelli
authors.forename: Cássio Machado de Campos
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bottino
authors.forename: Benito Pereira
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Damasceno
authors.forename: Sonia Maria Dozzi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Brucki
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Anghinah
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001938:Brazil; D032921:Consensus; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales