Agitation in patients with dementia: a practical guide to diagnosis and management. Edited by Donald P. Hay, David T. Klein, George T. Grossberg and John S. Kennedy. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., USA, 2003. Pages: 250

Abstract

This delightful book is one among the Clinical Practice Series dedicated to Linda K. Hay. It gives a comprehensive account of agitation in dementia. All the chapters have been written by experts in the field and they give an in-depth account of agitation in dementia. Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) include disorders of personality, behaviour, perception, thought content and mood. They cause distress to patients, relatives and carers. This book contains 16 chapters and covers all aspects of agitation in dementia, namely definition and theoretical conceptualization, epidemiology, neurochemistry, use of behavioural scales, differential diagnosis of agitation, clinical assessment, management and legal and ethical issues. The text is detailed and reflects wide experience. The style is clear, concise and readable. All the authors have unity of style and content. They have defined the subject well but have strayed into problem behaviours where the reader is likely to lose focus on the subject. They have elegantly described different models and conceptual frameworks for the cause of problem behaviour. The two dimensional model for agitated behaviour is worth mentioning. It not only gives a good understanding of the behaviour but will also help readers to translate the various interventions described by the authors into clinical practice. The chapter on epidemiology gives a good overview of agitation in various settings, in different types of dementias and in different demographic groups. The authors also propose a Neurobiological model for the basis of agitation in dementia in a simplistic fashion. The rapid advances in Neurobiology of Alzheimer's disease have been touched upon; however, the book does not touch upon cross-cultural aspects of agitation in dementia. This book with be helpful to a variety of professionals such as geriatric psychiatrists, geriatricians, general practioners, nurses, psychologists and house officers. M. DALVI Academic Specialist Registrar in Psychiatry