Dementia: A focused review

ISSN: 10167390
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Abstract

As populations around the world are aging rapidly, patients with dementia increase steadily. Dementia is a syndrome characterized by progressive deterioration in cognitive function, including memory, which impairs a person's capacity to function normally. Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not a normal part of aging. Dementia imposes huge economic burdens worldwide, including Taiwan. Diagnosing dementia is often difficult, particularly in the early stage. However, early diagnosis of dementia is a crucial element in managing dementia. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), "dementia" in the previous edition was replaced by "major neurocognitive disorder". The criteria for major neurocognitive disorder include "significant cognitive decline from a previous level of performance in one or more cognitive domains (complex attention, executive function, learning and memory, language, perceptual-motor, or social cognition)". Currently, there is no curable treatment for dementia. Pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments may be helpful to both cognitive and behavioral symptoms of dementia. The principal goal of dementia care is to slow the disease progression and improve symptoms. It is also important to reduce the burden of caregivers and thus improve their quality of life.

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APA

Leong, K. I., Chen, Y. C., & Chen, J. H. (2014). Dementia: A focused review. Journal of Internal Medicine of Taiwan. Society of Internal Medicine of Taiwan.

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