Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0011206 (delirium)
 5,996 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Dementia affects an estimated 5 percent of the population 65 years of age and older, with 20 percent being affected at 75 years or older. Although the most common forms, primary degenerative and multi-infarct dementia, currently lack specific treatments, it is estimated that a thorough diagnostic evaluation will uncover a treatable cause in 10 percent to 20 percent. The differential diagnosis includes benign senescent forgetfulness, depression, adjustment disorder, paranoid states, amnestic syndrome, delirium, drug effects, systemic illnesses and intracranial conditions. The approach to each patient involves a history, physical examination, mental status evaluation and laboratory tests that focus on identifying treatable conditions. When no specific treatments are available, however, symptomatic treatments, including pharmacotherapy, environmental management, family supports and psychotherapy, can offer relief for both patients and their families and improve the daily functioning of the elderly patient with dementia.
 ...
PMID:Diagnosis and treatment of dementia in the aged. 612 26

A case of essential degeneration of the thalamus is reported. The patient was a 43-year-old Japanese male, who, a few weeks after mild head trauma, suffered from forgetfulness, psychomotor slowing, and Korsakoff's syndrome. Four to five months later, there were optical hallucinations and delirium and he died 19 months after the onset of symptoms. Neuropathological examination revealed symmetrical thalamic degeneration, whose distribution corresponded to phylogenetically younger subunits of the thalamus. In addition, there was olivovermian degeneration. These findings are identical to those of eleven cases hitherto reported. Five of these were Japanese, including the present one. The syndrome thalamic degeneration may now be classified as a special type of "system degeneration".
 ...
PMID:System degeneration of the thalamus. A clinico-neuropathological study. 703 59

With the rapidly ageing population in Singapore, dementia prevalence is on the rise. Early diagnosis is important as dementia impacts not only on patients and their families, but also on the community and healthcare system as a whole; with early treatment plans drawn up, the suffering associated with this illness can be more effectively and efficiently managed. In this paper, we present a 4-step, evidence-based assessment strategy for primary care physicians, which cover the essential objectives of the dementia evaluation, incorporating local data where possible. The first step requires the important exclusion of delirium as the cause of forgetfulness or confusion. The second step involves clinically establishing that the patient's chronic confusional state is due to dementia. The third step looks at the behavioural, functional and social dimensions of dementia. The final step determines the aetiology of dementia with the use of a focused history, physical examination, a predefined battery of haematological tests and, in selected cases, structural neuroimaging.
 ...
PMID:An evidence-based clinical approach to the diagnosis of dementia. 1471 41