Applying the IWG Research Criteria in Clinical Practice Feasibility and Ethical Issues

In 2007, new International Working Group research criteria introduced a new conceptualization of Alzheimer disease and created a framework for earlier diagnosis. There is increasing consensus to understand Alzheimer disease as a clinical-biologic entity, in which biomarkers, especially pathophysiologic markers revealing underlying pathology, represent the biologic counterpart of the diagnosis, and specific symptoms, such as episodic memory deficits, account for the clinical one. This article advances and moves forward on this.