The Rate of Decline in Function in Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias

Functional impairment over time is a necessary condition for the diagnosis of dementia. Increasingly, it is recognized that rates of decline may not follow a linear progression. This variability may indicate that dementia in Alzheimer's disease represents disease rather than inevitable aging. In order to investigate decline in function in dementia, we developed a model of the rate of decline in functions in Alzheimer's disease and in other dementias in comparison with normal aging.