title: A life-course and multifactorial approach to Alzheimer's disease: Implications for research, clinical assessment and intervention practices.
abstract: According to the dominant biomedical view, Alzheimer's disease (AD) has a precise, necessary and unifying neurobiological cause, which distinguishes it from other neurodegenerative diseases and normal ageing. However, different types of evidence specifically lead to questioning the foundations of this essentialist and category-based approach to AD. It seems more and more evident that AD represents a heterogeneous state, determined by multiple factors and mechanisms that interact and intervene throughout life. This other way of conceiving AD not only requires a change of research objectives, but also a profound modification of clinical assessment and intervention practices. It also appeals to follow the path of prevention.
authors.affiliation: University of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Martial
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van der Linden
authors.affiliation: University of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anne-Claude
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Juillerat Van der Linden
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; assessment; biomedical approach; intervention; prevention