Dementia and Chronic Disease

Book excerpt: This book is designed to guide all physicians in long-term care, in-, and outpatient settings who work with elders with co-current dementia and medical comorbidities. Chapters cover a wide range of challenging topics, including epidemiological data, evaluation and management techniques to optimize physical and cognitive function in patients with dementia, safety measures, and nonpharmacologic measures to support cognition. Chapters also discuss the unique aspects of managing the most common chronic diseases and the management of musculoskeletal pain in elders with dementia. Except for the introductory chapter, each chapter will include a case vignette to highlight some of the primary challenges of management of the particular chronic disease/condition in elders with dementia, making this an accessible and highly practical tool for medical professionals of all backgrounds. Written by experts in the field, Dementia and Chronic Disease is an excellent resource for all medical professionals treating patients with dementia, including geriatricians, family medicine physicians, social workers, nurses, hospitalists, and all others.