Main description:

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating and dehumanizing illness affecting increasingly large numbers of elderly and even middle-aged persons in a worldwide epidemic. Alzheimer's Disease: A Physician's Guide to Practical Management was written by selected clinicians and scientists who represent some of the world's leading centers of excellence in AD research. The editors are proud and grateful for their profound contributions. This book is particularly designed to assist physicians and other health-care professionals in the evaluation, assessment, and treatment of individuals with AD. At the same time, by illuminating the basic scientific background, we hope to provide state-of-the art information about the disease and possible future therapeutic strategies. The recent psychiatric treatment aspects of AD are also clearly presented. Because the early diagnosis of the dementia process is now considered of increasing importance, we focus particularly in several chapters on early changes and preclinical conditions, such as mild cognitive impairment and predementia AD.

Contents:

Part I. Scientific Background of Alzheimer's Disease

Genetics of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders
John Hardy

Neuropathology of Alzheimer's Disease
Christian Schultz, Kelly Del Tredici, and Heiko Braak

Oxidative Stress in the Development of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
Domenico Pratico

Metabolism and Alzheimer's Disease
John P. Blass

Part II. Epidemiology

Alzheimer's Disease: Epidemiological and Statistical Data
Brigitte Zoeller Richter and Ralph W. Richter

The Economic Burden of Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia
Anders Wimo and Bengt Winblad

Potential and Established Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease
Brigitte Zoeller Richter

Part III. Clinical Assessment

Medical Diagnosis and Workup of Alzheimer's Disease
Ralph W. Richter

Neuroimaging Techniques: CT, MRI, SPECT, PET
Norman L. Foster

Biological Markers in Alzheimer's Disease
Ramon Diaz-Arrastia and Fred Baskin

The Neuropsychology of Alzheimer's Disease
Kirsten I. Taylor and Andreas U. Monsch

Vascular Cognitive Impairment in Clinical Practice
Kenneth Rockwood and Timo Erkinjuntti

Lewy Body Disease
Robert Barber, Jane Newby, and Ian G. McKeith

Frontotemporal Lobe Dementia
Malgorzata Franczak, Diana Kerwin, and Piero Antuono

Part IV. The Transitional Stage

Mild Forgetfulness: Distinguishing Early AD from Normal Aging
Scott A. Small

Mild Cognitive Impairment: What the Physician Should Know
Brigitte Zoeller Richter

Diagnosis of Predementia AD in a Clinical Setting
Pieter Jelle Visser

Loss of Olfactory Function in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease
Claire Murphy and Paul E. Gilbert

Part V. Treatment Options

Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: BasicConsiderations
Brigitte Zoeller Richter and Ralph W. Richter

Donepezil in Treatment of AD
Ging-Yuek Robin Hsiung and Howard Feldman

Rivastigmine for Treatment of AD
Martin R. Farlow

Galantamine in Treatment of AD
M. Saleem Ismail and Pierre N. Tariot

Memantine in Treatment of AD
Hans Joerg Moebius

Alternative Treatment Options
Brigitte Zoeller Richter

Part VI. Late-Stage Therapy

Pain and Palliative Care in Late-Stage Dementia Patients
Sophie Pautex, Dina Zekry, Gilbert Zulian, Gabriel Gold, and Jean-Pierre Michel

Cardiological Issues in Late-Stage Alzheimer's Disease: A Clinician's Approach
Jose R. Medina

Part VII. Prevention Strategies

Neuroprotection and Neurodegenerative Disease
Frank John Emery Vajda

Neurotrophic Factors for Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease
Mark H. Tuszynski

Statins in Prevention and Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease
David A. Drachman

Potential Role of Androgens and Androgen Receptors in Alzheimer's Disease
Jacob Raber

Role of Nutrition in Prevention or Delay of Alzheimer's Disease
Hannes B. Staehelin

Impact of Physical Activity on Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease
Danielle Laurin, Rene Verreault, and Joan Lindsay

Part VIII. Future Developments

Stem Cell Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease
Kiminobu Sugaya

Secretases as Potential Targets for Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease
Weiming Xia

AMPA Potentiation as a Treatment Option for Alzheimer's Disease
Amy S. Chappell and Michael M. Witte

Glycosaminoglycans as Potential Future Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease
Umberto Cornelli

Implications of Research for Management of AD
Peter J. Whitehouse

Part IX. Treatment Outcome Measurement

Rating Scales and Outcome