Case Studies in Dementia: Common and Uncommon Presentations

by Edited by Serge Gauthier , Pedro Rosa-Neto

• ISBN13: 9780521188302
• ISBN10: 052118830X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-06-06
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Dementia is amongst the greatest challenges facing the medical profession as the population ages. Accurate diagnosis is essential as many rarer forms of the disease are treatable if recognized early. This collection of case studies from around the world illustrates both common and unusual causes of dementia, emphasizing clinical reasoning, integrative thinking and problem-solving skills. Each case consists of a clinical history, examination findings and special investigations, followed by diagnosis and discussion. The aim is to reinforce diagnostic skills through careful analysis of individual presenting patterns, and to guide treatment decisions, using state-of-the-art diagnostic classification and tools. The reader will be able to distinguish patients who need reassurance, closer follow-up or immediate referral to specialized services. Written and edited by internationally recognized experts in dementia, these case studies will inform and challenge clinicians at all stages of their careers.

Author Biography

Serge Gauther is Director, Alzheimers Disease Research Unit, McGilL Center for Studies in Aging, Dorglas Mental Health University,institute,McGill University,Quebec,canda. Pedro Rosa-Neto is Assistant Professor of Neurology, Neuros,urgery, and psychiatry at McGill University, Quebec, Canada.

Table of Contents

List of contributors	p. viii
Preface	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xvi
Introduction to the diagnosis of dementia	p. 1
Subjective cognitive complaint	p. 6
Man with subjective complaints but abnormal CSF	p. 13
When mild cognitive impairment really is Alzheimer's disease	p. 18
Lost for words	p. 26
Woman with right-sided numbness	p. 33
Don't be fooled by a misleadingly high MMSE score	p. 42
Hemiparesis followed by dementia	p. 47
Young man with behavioral symptoms	p. 55
Woman with visual complaints	p. 59
Difficulty playing tennis	p. 64
Progressive aphasia complicated by intraccrebaral bledding	p. 71
Progressive difficulty with naming and object identification	p. 82
A lady with weakness, fasciculations, and railing memory	p. 90
Progressive difficulty producing speech	p. 98
Young man with progressive speech impairment and weakness	p. 105
Personality disintegration - it runs in the family	p. 115
Woman with complaints about her left arm	p. 124
The aged brain: when the pieces don't fit	p. 132
Hypersexuality in a 69-year-old man	p. 139
Man with fluctuating confusion	p. 148
Man with post-operative cognitive impairment	p. 155
Penicillin for dementia in a young man	p. 165
Thiamine for dementia in a young woman	p. 172
Dizziness in someone with HIV	p. 180
Case of young man smoking pot but with a mother who died of dementia	p. 188
University educated man with childish behavior	p. 193
Frontotemporal lobar dementia vs. solvent intoxication: A piece that does not fit the puzzle	p. 201
Man with difficulty keeping pace	p. 208
Young woman with abnormal movements but no family history	p. 215
Elderly lady with right-sided visual hallucinations	p. 222
Woman with gait impairment and difficulty reading	p. 229
Man with problems with reading and calculating	p. 238
Man with gait impairment and urine incontinence	p. 245
Falling before forgetting	p. 253
"Man who stopped drinking	p. 259
Woman with dementia and hepatic disease	p. 265
Young woman with recurrent "stroke" attacks	p. 272
Young man with slow cognitive decline	p. 277
Young woman with lateralized motor symptoms	p. 282
Index	p. 292
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