The memory clinic. A new approach to the detection of early dementia

Bayer, Antony James ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7514-248X, Pathy, M. S. and Twining, C. 1987. The memory clinic. A new approach to the detection of early dementia. Drugs 33 (Supp 2) , pp. 84-89.

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Dementia is commonly diagnosed at a time of major domestic breakdown, when symptoms are severe and family and community patience has been eroded. In order to encourage early referral and identification of patients with treatable conditions, a Memory Clinic is held at the University Hospital in Cardiff. The clinic provides a service for general practitioners, patients and carers, offering a multidisciplinary assessment, early diagnosis, and the planning of an individual 'care package' for each patient. It also has an important educational function and acts as a valuable research resource. A review of 100 consecutive patients recently referred found that 44 had Alzheimer-type dementia and 14 had a probable vascular component to their dementia. This latter group of patients were younger, more likely to be male and had a shorter duration of symptoms. One-third of patients were not dementing, and presenting symptoms in 19 of these dramatically improved with appropriate management, particularly of depression. 43 patients had other previously unrecognised, but treatable, medical conditions. Thus, early diagnosis enables the development of a clear plan for care, existing drug treatment can be rationalised, and appropriate treatment started at a stage when it is potentially of most value.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	0012-6667
Last Modified:	24 Oct 2022 11:59
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/50002

Citation Data

Cited 44 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item