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Dementia

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Neurology

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Abstract

Dementia is the chronic and progressive loss of memory and at least one other cognitive function. In many cases, the history must be provided by a family member or friend because the patient has little insight into their problem. Mental status examination should focus on tests of attention, memory, language, praxis, construction, mental flexibility, and processing speed. The combination of the history and mental status examination allows diagnosis in most cases. Structural and functional neuroimaging studies usually play confirmatory roles. Common causes of dementia include Alzheimer disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and normal pressure hydrocephalus. Mild cognitive impairment and subjective memory impairment refer to transitional states from normal to abnormal which precede full-blown dementia. Important mimics of dementia include depression, obstructive sleep apnea, pain, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Rapidly progressive dementias often come to attention in the inpatient setting, and the most important causes are Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Hashimoto encephalopathy, and cancer-associated processes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Andrew Tarulli

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  1. Andrew Tarulli
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Tarulli, A. (2016). Dementia. In: Neurology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29632-6_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29632-6_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-29630-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-29632-6

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