Purpose of review: The study aims to provide a summary of recent developments for diagnosing and managing posterior cortical atrophy (PCA).
Purpose of review: The study aims to provide a summary of recent developments for diagnosing and managing posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). We present current efforts to improve PCA characterisation and recommendations regarding use of clinical, neuropsychological and biomarker methods in PCA diagnosis and management and highlight current knowledge gaps. Recent findings: Recent multi-centre consensus recommendations provide PCA criteria with implications for different management strategies (e.g. targeting clinical features and/or disease). Studies emphasise the preponderance of primary or co-existing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology underpinning PCA. Evidence of approaches to manage PCA symptoms is largely derived from small studies. Summary: PCA diagnosis is frequently delayed, and people are likely to receive misdiagnoses of ocular or psychological conditions. Current treatment of PCA is symptomatic — pharmacological and non-pharmacological — and the use of most treatment options is based on small studiesor expert opinion. Recommendations for non-pharmacological approaches include interdisciplinary management tailored to the PCA clinical profile — visual-spatial — rather than memory-led, predominantly young onset — and psychosocial implications. Whilst emerging disease-modifying treatments have not been tested in PCA, an accurate and timely diagnosis of PCA and determining underlying pathology is of increasing importance in the advent of disease-modifying therapies for AD and other albeit rare causes of PCA.
Lund University, Profile areas and other strong research environments, Lund University Profile areas, LU Profile Area: Proactive Ageing, Lunds universitet, Profilområden och andra starka forskningsmiljöer, Lunds universitets profilområden, LU profilområde: Proaktivt åldrande, Originator, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, Malmö, Clinical Memory Research, Lunds universitet, Medicinska fakulteten, Institutionen för kliniska vetenskaper, Malmö, Klinisk minnesforskning, Originator, Lund University, Profile areas and other strong research environments, Strategic research areas (SRA), MultiPark: Multidisciplinary research focused on Parkinson´s disease, Lunds universitet, Profilområden och andra starka forskningsmiljöer, Strategiska forskningsområden (SFO), MultiPark: Multidisciplinary research focused on Parkinson´s disease, Originator