Vanderbilt Reporter feature on Dr. Katherine Gifford's research on cognitive complaints and risk for Alzheimer’s disease

A study of cognitive complaints in older adults showed that memory concerns from both the patient and an informant was most predictive of converting to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia within three years.

“We’re interested in how we can detect unusual or unhealthy brain changes at their earliest stage, and we found that people who have mutual sources of complaint, from both themselves and a loved one, are at a great risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease over an approximate two-year period,” said Katherine Gifford, Psy.D., neuropsychology fellow in the Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer’s Center and lead author of the study.