Dementia: Its Nature and Management - Hardcover

Written by a consultant in psychogeriatrics, this practical book discusses the causes, diagnosis and treatment of senile and pre-senile dementia, with particular emphasis on Alzheimer's disease. The author, Morris Fraser, does not deal in hopes and fears, but simply asks, 'What can be done about dementia in the 1980s and 1990s?'. The number of people suffering from dementia is on the increase because more people now survive into the high risk period for the disease, which can strike from middle age onwards. It is often said that the condition is untreatable, but the author argues that given what we know about treatment (whether drug therapy or community care), and with greater determination on the part of clinicians to translate theory into practice, plus a vastly improved co-operation between the medical and social services, the management of dementia could be revolutionised now. This is a practical, readable and provocative account of the subject of dementia, which deals with the many medical, ethical and social dilemmas which surround the subject. Its emphasis is essentially practical, (for example, with illustrated descriptions of new diagnostic methods, including pictures of CT scans). The book is primarily intended for psychiatrists, geriatricians and neurologists, but it will also have a wide appeal amongst community health professionals, psychologists and social workers.