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KMID : 1024720140040010001
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Geriatric Rehabilitation
2014 Volume.4 No. 1 p.1 ~ p.9
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Definition and Diagnostic Approach for Dementia
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Kim Min-Wook
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Abstract
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Dementia could be a major problem of the nation as the aged population is rapidly increasing. The quality of life would be seriously decreased in both dementia patients and their family. The government is trying to help dementia patients with insurance system. As an introduction of the special dementia section, the definition and diagnostic approach are described in this paper. The dementia is a syndrome that is composed of over 70 etiologies with multiple cognitive deficits and dysfunction of activities of daily living. The diagnostic criteria should be recognized according to the type of dementia. The cognition, ADL, behaviors, and differential diagnosis are the main key for the diagnosis of dementia. The diagnostic approach includes history taking, clinical examination and neurologic examination, neuropsychological test, laboratory test, radiologic brain imaging. Delirium and depression must be excluded preferentially. Treatable causes should be ruled out, such as thyroid dysfunction, drug induced dementia, brain tumor, hydrocephalus or subdural hemorrhage. Differential diagnosis needs to be done by the type of demntia, such as Alzheimer dementia, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson dementia, corticobasal dementia et al. The description of the definition and diagnostic approach will lead the clinician to better accurate diagnosis of dementia patients.
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KEYWORD
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Dementia, Memory disorders, Alzheimer disease, Diagnosis
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