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Masquerading as Dementia

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Abstract

Distinguishing one type of dementia from another may be difficult without running many tests. However, distinguishing dementia from delirium or some other non-dementia condition presenting similar symptoms as those seen in dementia is crucial since such symptoms may be reversible after treatment. Delirium, for example, can usually be traced to a contributing factor such as medications, brain trauma, alcohol or drug abuse, surgery, infection, and a host of medical illnesses associated with high fever. Fever can cause delirium because high temperature (105 °F and over) can interfere with multiple processes involving brain metabolism.

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Correspondence to Jack C. de la Torre .

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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de la Torre, J.C. (2016). Masquerading as Dementia. In: Alzheimer’s Turning Point. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34057-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34057-9_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-34056-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-34057-9

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