The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias » (New Edition)

Myron F. Weiner, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology; Aradine S. Ard Chair in Brain Science; and Dorothy L. and John P. Harbin Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

Anne M. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., is in the Department of Neurology at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas in Dallas, Texas.

The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias is an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of dementia for psychiatrists and other health care practitioners who deal with cognitively impaired adults in outpatient, inpatient, and long-term care settings. With content ranging from clinical guidance to basic research, it contains information on nearly every subject related to dementing conditions or illnesses—not only providing extensive coverage of clinical management issues but also enabling a deeper understanding of the causes of dementia. Designed to assist the practitioner faced with everyday dilemmas, from dosages of antipsychotic drugs to legal and ethical issues, this textbook describes in detail the most common conditions and diseases leading to dementia and covers pharmacologic, behavioral, and environmental treatments. It also considers a broader range of cognitive disorders and impairment in order to help practitioners recognize and treat primary brain diseases and systemic disorders affecting the brain before they reach the stage of dementia.

Building on the editors’ earlier work The Dementias: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Research, this new book expands on its scope, with nearly twice the number of contributors—all clinicians or researchers at the vanguard of the field. New to this edition are chapters on epidemiology, history of dementia, biomarkers for Alzheimer disease, care of the late-stage dementia patient, prevention of dementia, and chapters devoted to:

• Vascular cognitive impairment, emphasizing the importance of early detection with development of appropriate treatments and risk factor control
• Dementia with Lewy bodies and other synucleinopathies, describing differences in cognitive profile between synucleinopathies and Alzheimer disease
• Frontotemporal dementias, including behavioral and language variants
• Traumatic brain injury, distinguishing between proximal and distal effects and risk factors for dementia later in life

An abundance of charts and illustrations, extensive references and additional readings, and chapter-end key points make this a practical volume for learning, while appendixes include easily administered instruments useful in daily practice for grading cognition, day-to-day function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and quality of life. Whether used as a clinical guide or as a sourcebook on technical and scientific developments, The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias is an important reference for psychiatrists, neurologists, geriatricians, primary care physicians, and other health professionals who deal with cognitively impaired adults.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Michael Joel Schrift, D.O., M.A.(University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine)
Description:This comprehensive new textbook covers the disorders of cognitive impairment, specifically the dementias and related disorders. Written and edited by leaders in dementia care and research, this is an outstanding resource for any physician wanting to keep abreast of the rapidly expanding knowledge in this area. It is a welcome addition to the neurology and psychiatry literature.
Purpose:The purpose is to provide a reference or sourcebook of the dementias. The editors also want the textbook to teach clinicians the "recognition and treatment of primary brain diseases and systemic disorders affecting the brain before they reach the stage of dementia.
Audience:The targeted audience is primarily physicians in psychiatry, neurology, and geriatric medicine. Trainees in psychiatry, neurology, neuropsychiatry/behavioral neurology, neuropsychology, and geriatrics would find it extremely useful.
Features:The 26 chapters are grouped into six parts. Part 1 reviews the history of the conceptualization of dementia and the epidemiology. Evaluation and diagnosis is covered in part 2, which includes chapters on neuropsychiatric assessment, medical evaluation, neuropsychological assessment, and neuroimaging. Part 3 reviews the various dementia syndromes with chapters on Alzheimer disease, mild cognitive impairment, vascular cognitive impairment, Lewy body dementia, and other synucleinopathies, frontotemporal lobe dementia, and traumatic brain injury. Treatment is the focus of part 4 with pharmacological and behavioral/environmental approaches addressed as well as the management of advanced illness. Part 5 covers caregiver support and legal and ethical issues. The concluding section is oriented to the future with chapters on biomarkers, molecular and genetic bases of Alzheimer disease, future treatment strategies, and prevention issues. Each chapter is extensively referenced with citations of the relevant scientific literature. An included bonus are the 10 appendixes with forms for the history, the mental status examination, neurological examination, ADL inventory, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, Agitated Behavior in Dementia Scale, Quality of Life in Alzheimer Disease Scale and in Late-Stage Dementia, and a useful list of resources. The index is quite detailed.
Assessment:This is a marvelous new and comprehensive textbook covering the dementias and related cognitive disorders. Everything a clinician would want to know about these difficult disorders is contained in this excellent textbook.

Introduction. Foreword. Part I: Introduction to the Dementias. Dementia and Alzheimer disease: ancient Greek medicine to modern molecular biology. Epidemiology and impact of dementia. Part II: Evaluation and Diagnosis of Dementia. Neuropsychiatric assessment and diagnosis. Medical evaluation and diagnosis. Neuropsychological assessment in dementia. Neuroimaging. Cognitive disorders as psychobiological processes. Part III: Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias. Alzheimer disease. Mild cognitive impairment. Vascular cognitive disorder. Dementia with Lewy bodies and other synucleinopathies. Frontotemporal dementia. Traumatic brain injury. Other causes of dementia. Psychiatric disorders in people with dementia. Part IV: Treatment of Dementia. Pharmacologic treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Behavioral and environmental management. Pharmacologic treatment of Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment. Management of advanced dementia. Part V: Caregiving, Legal, and Ethical Issues. Supporting family caregivers. Legal issues. Ethical issues and patterns of practice. Part VI: Dementias: The Future. Biomarkers for the dementias. The molecular and genetic basis of Alzheimer disease. The future of dementia treatment. Prevention of dementia and cognitive decline. Appendixes. History form. Level of function scale. Mental status examination. Neurological examination. Alzheimer’s disease cooperative study activities of daily living inventory. Neuropsychiatric inventory: community dwelling version. Agitated behavior in dementia scale. Quality of life in Alzheimer’s disease scale. Quality of life in late-stage dementia (QUALID) scale. Resources. Index.