Dementias: Biological Bases and Clinical Approach to Treatment

ISBN-13: 9788847000483 / Angielski / Miękka / 1999 / 308 str.

C. L. Bolis; Marco Trabucchi; Carla Liana Bolis

Opis

To a certain extent the dementias have been forgotten diseases until just recen tly when they were brought to the attention of the general public and health authorities as a result of the increasing number of cases in the aging popula tion, especially among famous people, and because of the efforts of private foundations. The goals of the present volume are to present the dementias to health prac titioners, to provide some basic information on their epidemiology and biolo gical basis and to discuss the diagnostic and clinical problems that physicians and institutions face when caring for demented patients. This book explores the various types of dementias and is not limited to Alzheimer's disease although, as expected, more information is available and presented on this pathology. On the other hand, a few fundamental questions on dementia can only be answe red through a comparison of the various forms. Examples of such questions are the following: Is the loss of cerebral tissue sufficient to cause dementia? Are there thresholds or is there a continuous progression toward the irreversible development of dementia? Are there common pathways in the dementing pro cess? Are there common risk factors? Comparative analysis allows the common and distinctive patterns of the various dementias to be defined, ultimately lea ding to more focused therapeutic interventions."

Spis treści

Dementias, the Dimension of the Problem: Epidemiology Notes.- The Biological Basis of Dementias.- Classification and Diagnosis of Dementias.- Alzheimer’s Disease.- Lacunes in — the Knowledge of — Vascular Dementia.- Dementia with Lewy Bodies.- Frontotemporal Dementia.- Pseudodementia.- Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Dementia Patients.- Non-Cognitive Symptoms and Alterations in Demented Patients.- Pharmacotherapeutic Approach to the Treatment of Alzheimer Disease.- Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders.- GENTLECARE: the Prosthetic Life Care Approach to Providing Dementia Care at Home or in Institutions.- Economics of Dementia.- Ethical Problems in Caring for Demented Patients.