Dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a general term for a number of progressive, organic brain diseases affecting around half a million people in England alone. Most neurodegenerative diseases that lead to dementia are characterized by processes that result in the aberrant polymerization of proteins, and a proportion of subjects with these diseases develop dementia as a direct result of the presence of mutations or polymorphisms in genes that influence these processes. The most common cause of dementia, and the best studied, is Alzheimer’s disease. Other important causes include vascular dementia; dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. Management of dementia is largely focussed on helping carers to cope with the increase in physical dependence of patients as the disease progresses or with the emergence of troublesome neuropsychiatric symptoms. Current pharmacological treatments are based on the neurochemical changes that are found in these diseases. Cholinesterase inhibitors offer some help in ameliorating the inevitable cognitive decline found in Alzheimer’s disease and may have some role in the treatment of dementia with Lewy bodies. However, the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia is still largely empirical and is hampered by either limited efficacy or troublesome side effects.
alzheimer’s disease, cognitive deficits, dementia, frontotemporal dementia, lewy body dementia, vascular dementia
467-470
Holmes, Clive
ada5abf3-8459-4cf7-be40-3f4e9391cc96
September 2008
Holmes, Clive
ada5abf3-8459-4cf7-be40-3f4e9391cc96
Abstract
Dementia is a general term for a number of progressive, organic brain diseases affecting around half a million people in England alone. Most neurodegenerative diseases that lead to dementia are characterized by processes that result in the aberrant polymerization of proteins, and a proportion of subjects with these diseases develop dementia as a direct result of the presence of mutations or polymorphisms in genes that influence these processes. The most common cause of dementia, and the best studied, is Alzheimer’s disease. Other important causes include vascular dementia; dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. Management of dementia is largely focussed on helping carers to cope with the increase in physical dependence of patients as the disease progresses or with the emergence of troublesome neuropsychiatric symptoms. Current pharmacological treatments are based on the neurochemical changes that are found in these diseases. Cholinesterase inhibitors offer some help in ameliorating the inevitable cognitive decline found in Alzheimer’s disease and may have some role in the treatment of dementia with Lewy bodies. However, the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia is still largely empirical and is hampered by either limited efficacy or troublesome side effects.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: September 2008
Keywords:
alzheimer’s disease, cognitive deficits, dementia, frontotemporal dementia, lewy body dementia, vascular dementia
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 70159
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/70159
ISSN: 1357-3039
PURE UUID: 82481867-56b2-414c-ad00-3a58dc3bc1f2
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 10 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:43
Export record
Altmetrics
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
