As a practicing geriatrician who is frequently the first physician to diagnose a patient with Alzheimer's, I have a different concern.  It's the overwhelming fascination by both colleagues and the lay public with the Holy Grail of a diagnostice test for Alzheimer's disease.  This is a disease that can be reliably diagnosed by experienced clinicians without spending thousands of dollars on imaging tests of questionable utility.  In most cases, by the time a patient sees me they have had Alzheimer's for at least a year, and there is no doubt about the diagnosis.  During this interval both the patient and family have lost valuable time that could have been spent treating and adapting to this disease.  

We already have a diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease.  It's a thorough examination by a physician who knows how to diagnose it.  And it doesn't cost thousands of dollars either.

James P. Richardson, M.D., M.P.H.