The causes of dementia in later life are reviewed. Special attention is paid to senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type, its prevelance, the characteristic structural changes in the brains of persons suffering from this disorder, and the hypothesized causes of the disease. The hypothesis that Alzheimer's disease represents accelerated aging is described. Treatment issues are discussed, primarily in terms of supportive environments, differential diagnosis, and assistance to the caregiver.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
HughesC. P., The Differential Diagnosis of Dementia in the Senium, in Senile Dementia: A Biomedical Approach, NandyK., (ed.), Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, New York, 1978.
2.
KapnickP. L., Organic Treatment of the Elderly, in The Clinical Psychology of Aging, StorandtM.SieglerI. C., and EliasM. F., (eds.), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 225–252, 1978.
3.
BusseE. W., Psychopathology, in Handbook of Aging and the Individual, BirrenJ. E., (ed.), University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 362–399, 1959.
4.
TomlinsonB. E.BlessedG., and RothM., Observations on the Brains of Demented Old People, Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 11, pp. 205–242, 1970.
5.
TerryR. D. and WisniewskiH. M., Structural and Chemical Changes of the Aged Human Brain, in Aging, Volume 2: Genesis and Treatment of Psychologic Disorders in the Elderly, GershonS. and RaskinA. (eds.), Raven Press, New York, pp. 127–141, 1975.
6.
BlessedG.TomlinsonB. E., and RothM., The Association Between Quantitative Measures of Dementia and of Senile Change in the Cerebral Grey Matter of Elderly Subjects, British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, pp. 797–811, 1968.
