3rd Edition
Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias A Practical Guide
Working with the needs of patients with Alzheimer’s disease can be a major challenge for primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and other mental-health professionals. Alzheimer’s wreaks havoc on the patient, and its degenerative nature can create a protracted period of anguish and anxiety for the patient’s family. Dr. Marc Agronin has put his years of experience as a geriatric psychiatrist to work to create an eminently useful resource for psychiatrists and others who treat patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Now in its third edition, Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias uses concise and clear language to outline the symptoms, effects and treatments used to combat the progress of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias likely to be suffered by older patients. Enriched by case studies from his own clinical practice, Dr. Agronin creates a volume full of humanity, insight, and knowledge that is sure to inform and improve the habits and methods of any clinician who deals with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Peter V. Rabins
Acknowledgments
Introduction to the third edition
SECTION I - Clinical Assessment of Dementia
Chapter 1 An Overview of Dementia
Chapter 2 The Dementia Work-Up
SECTION II - Dementia Subtypes
Chapter 3 Mild Cognitive Impairment
Chapter 4 Alzheimer’s Disease
Chapter 5 Vascular Dementia
Chapter 6 Dementia with Lewy Bodies
Chapter 7 Frontotemporal Dementia
Chapter 8 Dementia Associated with Medical Conditions
SECTION III - Psychiatric Conditions Associated with Dementia
Chapter 9 Agitation and Psychosis
Chapter 10 Depression, Anxiety and Apathy
SECTION IV - Psychosocial Issues in Dementia Care
Chapter 11 Legal and Ethical Issues
Chapter 12 Caring for the Caregiver
INDEX
Biography
Marc E. Agronin, MD, is a board-certified adult and geriatric psychiatrist; he serves as the medical director for mental health and clinical research at the Miami Jewish Health Systems and as an affiliate associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is the author of numerous articles and books in the field of psychiatry and a nationally known speaker and expert on Alzheimer’s disease and other late-life psychiatric disorders. In 2008, Dr. Agronin was named "clinician of the year" by the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. He is the author of How We Age: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Growing Old and Therapy with Older Clients: Key Strategies for Success, as well as coeditor of Principles and Practice of Geriatric Psychiatry, second edition.
"Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias is the perfect practical guide for any clinician who works with cognitively impaired patients. Marc Agronin’s writing is accessible to a professional and lay audience, and his clinical pearls will offer new insights to even the most seasoned clinician. I recommend this volume to not only my students and colleagues, but I suspect that many families will find the information illuminating."
—Gary Small, MD, director of the division of geriatric psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and author of the New York Times bestseller The Memory Bible
"While there are many books on dementia, few are able to bring together the scientific and medical information with an appreciation for the human being behind the dementia. Marc Agronin not only pulls off this feat, but he does so in a readable, up-to-date, informative fashion. This is truly a practical guide."
—Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
"Dr. Agronin's new edition of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias is a comprehensive yet concise guide to the assessment and treatment of various forms of dementia. It is written in clear and practical manner and includes many useful case studies and clinical tips. It should be an essential tool for all clinicians working with patients with dementia and their caregivers."
—Dilip V. Jeste, MD, Estelle and Edgar Levi Chair in Aging and director of the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California, San Diego
