Clinimetrics: Towards a diagnostic neuropsychology grounded in Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract

Neuropsychology's place in diagnosing dementia is still up for debate. With the advent of disease-modifying therapies, the optimisation of diagnostic pathways is increasingly urgent, particularly in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Yet, biomarker-driven frameworks eclipse neuropsychological testing as an ancillary tool rather than recognising it as a core component of clinical assessment. Emerging evidence indicates that relying solely on biomarkers does not provide a dependable forecast for the onset or progression of dementia. This drawback underscores how important neuropsychology is. Nonetheless, the clinical adoption of neuropsychological tests for diagnostic purposes requires a paradigm shift towards a more rigorous methodology. Despite its recognised diagnostic potential, the current neuropsychological framework is constrained by thresholds derived from normative distributions rather than Clinimetrics. Many existing tests rely on arbitrary cut-offs that do not account for disease prevalence, personological variability, or real-world cognitive performance. This oversimplified approach reduces the sensitivity of neuropsychological assessments and limits their integration into clinical practice. The development of population-specific clinimetric studies that establish weighted cut-offs for sensitivity and specificity based on clinical aims is crucial to ensure clinically meaningful decision-making.