Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

N europsychiatrist, master, and doctor in dementia (neurology), Leonardo Caixeta joined 38 Brazilian experts in psychiatry, neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry, and neurogeriatrical areas to organize a work that presents updated and comprehensive information on Alzheimer's disease (AD), which reaches more than 25 million people around the world. With a clear language, the experts produced a book not only for the medical community, but also for professionals from other areas related to taking care of people who live with the disease. The work is divided into three sections: general; diagnosis and evaluation; and management, treatment and prevention. The first section is divided into five chapters that bring reflections and discussions on recent developments in the concept of AD, its neurobiology and other dementias, its genetic basis, epidemiology and cross-cultural aspects. In this first part of the book, it is also important to highlight the chapter rich in details that lead the reader to a historical retrospective of discovery and description of the disease by Aloysius Alzheimer in 1907. This period was when the clinical features of the disease were designed in a woman who presented jealousy of her husband (behavioral disorders) as the first obvious symptom of AD. Gradually, she suffered progressive loss of memory, language and critical, until her death. Also in this chapter, the author explains in details how AD migrated from one extreme to another when left in a condition that was considered rare (almost until the 1970s) to become an epidemic in present days. The second section of the book consists of 16 chapters that present and discuss relevant topics for professionals who wish to study more on such disease. In this part of the book, the readers get to know the new diagnostic criteria and biomarkers of AD, which were published in 2011. Thus, the experts who subscribed it accentuate these following terminologies to classify individuals with AD: probable AD; possible AD; and probable or possible AD dementia with evidence of its pathophysiological process. The first two are intended for using in all clinical settings, and the third is currently intended for research purposes. Another highlight of the second section of the book is the chapter that approaches the language impairment in Alzheimer's dementia. The aim is to present the main language disorders in patients with AD and the communication difficulties they have, as well as the most used neuropsychological assessments and rehabilitation strategies that promote a better quality of life for patients, their families and caregivers. At the end of that chapter, the authors present a framework with communication guidelines for caregivers. Along the way, the third and final section of the book includes ten chapters with topics that update clinicians and researchers in scientific areas related to Alzheimer's dementia. It is also important the chapter about nonpharmacological treatments in AD, which is recommended as the most appropriate initial strategy for the man...