Researchers at Mayo Clinic recently established new criteria for a memory-loss syndrome in older adults, showing promise in the definitive diagnosis of cognitive degenerative conditions. 

Cognitive deterioration manifests as a combination of symptoms that include difficulties with memory, attention span, communication, judgement, reasoning and problem-solving abilities. Based on symptoms alone, it’s challenging, even for skilled neurologists, to zero in on a definitive diagnosis. It could be Alzheimer’s, Frontotemporal Dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Huntington’s disease, or Diffuse Lewy body disease, among many other conditions that exhibit overlapping symptoms.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in the US recently established new criteria for a memory-loss syndrome in older adults that specifically impacts the brain’s limbic system. Often, the condition is mistaken for Alzheimer's disease. The new set of criteria will assist physicians in the diagnosis of a brain health condition referred to as Limbic-Predominant Amnestic Neurodegenerative Syndrome (LANS). This shows promise in the definitive diagnosis of cognitive degenerative conditions that may not be cured, but can be significantly slowed down. 

LANS is defined as a progressive degenerative syndrome of the limbic system, an aggregation of brain structures that are involved in one’s behavioural and emotional responses. Degeneration of the limbic system hinders the forming of new memories, leading to difficulties in recalling recent events, names, and restating the same things.

Some of the definitive markers that assist in the diagnosis of LANS include slow and predominant memory loss in people aged 75 years or older, impaired semantic knowledge, reduced volume of the hippocampus (hippocampal atrophy), and build-up of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) in the limbic system.

The new criteria provide a framework for experts to classify cognitive degenerative conditions in patients, offering a more precise diagnosis and potential treatments. They consider factors such as age, severity of memory impairment, brain scans, and biomarkers indicating the deposits of specific proteins in the brain.

We need more such research to facilitate early diagnosis and timely treatment of neurocognitive disorders, an important global health concern. Only then can we move away from the current clinal practice of elimination and confirmation, which is time-consuming, expensive and tiresome for patients, to arrive at a definitive diagnosis. 

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