Impaired cognitive performance in the presence of intact functional ability in middle-aged and elderly individuals may lead to a diagnosis of MCI and a suspicion of early Alzheimer’s disease. A major objective of this Symposium is to identify factors which can improve diagnostic accuracy of prodromal Alzheimer’s disease or identify alternative causes of real or apparent cognitive impairment.

Biomarkers which can identify the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, with the use of PET or CSF have not been readily available to the vast majority of individuals in whom a prodromal AD diagnosis is suspected. In this Symposium we will explore how blood biomarkers may change the landscape, by their easy accessibility and lower cost, by making early diagnosis of AD more accessible and secure.

An almost inevitable aspect of aging is the development of vascular disease, which can be a cause of MCI, alone or in combination with another cause. An objective of this Symposium is to improve the diagnosis of vascular MCI and explore mechanisms by which vascular disease of the brain may cause cognitive impairment, or even promote the development of AD.

Sensory impairment in the domains of hearing, vision or olfaction, may result in cognitive impairment or be a marker of an ongoing neurodegenerative process. A goal of this Symposium is to explore the association of impairments in these sensory domains with cognitive impairment and evidence of underlying neurodegenerative disease.