Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease, Types of Plaques and Their Detection, Imaging Techniques, and Other Tests

The unresolved problem of effective control over and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has its solution rooted either in understanding the exact cause of the disease or in detecting the disease much earlier than any of the symptoms occur. AD research has come a long way, and due to its multifactorial nature, it presents many avenues and features for detection. The current chapter aims to highlight the various approaches that have been in use for the early detection and diagnosis of the disease. The three broad modes of AD diagnosis—neuroimaging, neuropsychological assessment, and biomarker-based testing—have been discussed descriptively, providing scope for developing more specific diagnostic techniques in the future and better handling of the disease in the coming years.