When announcements of a new treatment or a new “breakthrough” appear in the media, readers/listeners must take care to analyze them in order to properly assess the claims being made and to sort the pertinent information from the extraneous verbiage used to catch consumer attention. Several points should be kept in mind to avoid false […]

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Persons who develop symptoms of dementia should undergo a medical evaluation for treatable causes. Even if a treatable form of dementia is not found, it is advantageous to establish a diagnosis because this makes it possible to predict the course of the particular illness.
The evaluation begins with a history of the illness and is usually […]

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Large numbers of patients presenting symptoms of dementia have been evaluated to determine the frequency of treatable forms. These studies have found that from 10 to 20 percent of persons with symptoms of dementia have underlying diseases for which specific treatments exist. It is the physician’s first responsibility to identify those individuals with potentially reversible […]

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Long-term care statistics show that more than half the residents in a skilled nursing facility are diagnosed as having some form of dementia, many of the Alzheimer type. It is a challenge for a nursing home to design program activities that will meet the needs of the Alzheimer patients. Special planning and coordination is required […]

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One of the first prerequisites to choosing a nursing home is to consider the financial aspects. Nursing homes can be expected to cost at least $1,500 per month. The cost of the nursing home facility will be deter­mined in part by the level of care necessary for the patient. A physician orders the necessary services […]

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