International psychogeriatrics
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The aim of this study was to give an in-depth description of the impact of disclosure of the diagnosis of dementia on a patient and the patient's partner. ⋯ Receiving the diagnosis of dementia can be considered as a crucial moment in the process of becoming aware of the changes in one's life. Moreover, disclosure marks a new phase in the process of caring by the caregiver.
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The aim of this study was to retrospectively differentiate the cognitive profile of subjects with geriatric depression who will later be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) from those who will be diagnosed with other dementias, and subjects who will remain with no dementia. ⋯ The identification of early neuropsychological markers in elderly depressed patients highlights the need to evaluate this population broadly as soon as possible in the depression/dementia process in order to improve the prognosis.
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Patients with dementia often receive poor end-of-life care, with inadequate pain control and without access to the palliative care services that patients with cancer are offered. This has been identified as an area of need in recent UK. Government reports and by the Alzheimer's Society (UK). Our objective was to perform a systematic review of the scientific literature regarding the efficacy of a palliative care model in patients with dementia. ⋯ Despite the increased interest in palliative care for patients with dementia there is currently little evidence on which to base such an approach. This may in part be due to the ethical difficulties surrounding such research, prognostic uncertainty in clinicians and the lack of clear outcome measures for patients who are unable to express their needs or wishes. Further systematic research is urgently needed to educate an important and developing area of clinical practice.
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A group of neurodegenerative diseases is outlined that affect cortical and subcortical areas of the brain. These diseases give rise to atypical forms of dementia and, unlike Alzheimer's disease (AD), are often associated with neurological symptoms. Clinical symptoms reflect the localization of the degenerative process rather than the nature of the underlying histopathology. ⋯ Huntington's disease is a prototypical autosomal dominant disorder that affects the extrapyramidal system and causes choreatic movements in combination with personality changes and cognitive deterioration. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with dementia is a neurodegeneration of the frontotemporal cortex and of the anterior horn of the spinal cord. Behavioral change similar to frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is paralleled or followed by the classic features of motor neuron disease.