Alzheimer's Disease, Edited by Leonard F

Alzheimer’s Disease C URRENT CLINICAL NEUROLOGY Daniel Tarsy, MD, SERIES EDITOR Clinical Handbook of Insomnia, edited by Hrayr P. Attarian, 2004 Critical Care Neurology and Neurosurgery, edited by Jose I. Suarez, 2004 Alzheimer’s Disease: A Physician’s Guide to Practical Management, edited by Ralph W. Richter and Brigitte Zoeller Richter, 2004 Field of Vision: A Manual and Atlas of Perimetry, edited by Jason J. S. Barton and Michael Benatar, 2003 Surgical Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and Other Movement Disorders, edited by Daniel Tarsy, Jerrold L. Vitek, and Andres M. Lozano, 2003 Myasthenia Gravis and Related Disorders, edited by Henry J. Kaminski, 2003 Seizures: Medical Causes and Management, edited by Norman Delanty, 2002 Clinical Evaluation and Management of Spasticity, edited by David A. Gelber and Douglas R. Jeffery, 2002 Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease, edited by Leonard F. M. Scinto and Kirk R. Daffner, 2000 Sexual and Reproductive Neurorehabilitation, edited by Mindy Aisen, 1997 Alzheimer’s Disease A Physician’s Guide to Practical Management Edited by Ralph W. Richter, MD, FACP Clinical Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit St. John Medical Center, Tulsa, OK Brigitte Zoeller Richter, DiplPharm Pharmacist, Publicist, Tulsa, OK SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC © 2004 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Humana Press Inc. in 2004 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 www.humanapress.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the Publisher. The content and opinions expressed in this book are the sole work of the authors and editors, who have warranted due diligence in the creation and issuance of their work. The publisher, editors, and authors are not responsible for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from the information or opinions presented in this book and make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to its contents. Due diligence has been taken by the publishers, editors, and authors of this book to assure the accuracy of the information published and to describe generally accepted practices. The contributors herein have carefully checked to ensure that the drug selections and dosages set forth in this text are accurate and in accord with the standards accepted at the time of publication. Notwithstanding, as new research, changes in government regulations, and knowledge from clinical experi- ence relating to drug therapy and drug reactions constantly occurs, the reader is advised to check the product information provided by the manufacturer of each drug for any change in dosages or for additional warnings and contraindications. This is of utmost importance when the recommended drug herein is a new or infrequently used drug. It is the responsibility of the treating physician to determine dosages and treatment strategies for individual patients. Further it is the responsibility of the health care provider to ascertain the Food and Drug Administration status of each drug or device used in their clinical practice. The publisher, editors, and authors are not responsible for errors or omissions or for any consequences from the application of the information presented in this book and make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the contents in this publication. Cover design: Patricia Cleary. Production Editor: J. Morgan. This publication is printed on acid-free paper. ∞ ANSI Z39.48-1984 (American National Standards Institute) Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. Photocopy Authorization Policy: Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients is granted by Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. provided that the base fee of US $25.00 per copy is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers MA 01923. For those organizations that have been granted a photocopy license from the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged and is acceptable to the Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. The fee code for users of the Transactional Reporting Service is 0-89603-891-2/04 $25.00. ISBN 978-1-4757-4485-9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alzheimer’s disease : a physician’s guide to practical management / edited by Ralph W. Richter, Brigitte Zoeller Richter. p. ; cm. — (Current clinical neurology) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4757-4485-9 ISBN 978-1-59259-661-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-59259-661-4 1. Alzheimer’s disease. 2. Alzheimer’s disease—Treatment. [DNLM: 1. Alzheimer Disease. WT 155 A4756 2004] I. Richter, Ralph W. II. Zoeller Richter, Brigitte. III. Series. RC523.A3748 2004 616.8’31—dc21 2003006948 Preface Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating and dehumanizing illness affecting increasingly large numbers of elderly and even middle-aged persons in a worldwide epidemic. Alzheimer’s Disease: A Physician’s Guide to Practical Management was written by selected clinicians and scientists who represent some of the world’s leading centers of excellence in AD research. The editors are proud and grateful for their profound contributions. This book is particularly designed to assist physicians and other health-care professionals in the evaluation, assessment, and treatment of individuals with AD. At the same time, by illuminating the basic scientific background, we hope to provide state-of-the art information about the disease and possible future therapeutic strategies. The recent psychiatric treatment aspects of AD are also clearly presented. Because the early diagnosis of the dementia process is now considered of increasing importance, we focus particularly in several chapters on early changes and preclinical conditions, such as mild cognitive impairment and predementia AD. The pathway toward reaching the goal of prevention of the disease is arduous and requires patience and fortitude. Patients and their families are not well served by overenthusiastic releases from companies or from scientists at a stage of research that can offer only experimental and animal data as grounds for optimism. Nevertheless, it is necessary to be informed about what might be coming up in the future. For this reason, comprehensive and timely information about potential future options for prevention and treatment of AD is included. A number of basic scientists discuss their areas of research in this volume. As a result, we have provided our readers with broad insight into such new therapeutic directions as stem cell therapy and other unique strategies. AD imposes a tremendously painful burden on caregivers as well as friends. The consequences of providing this care are associated with deep feelings of isolation, loneliness, and despair. This has led us to include treatment of these aspects in this volume. We also provide some guidance for caregivers and medical providers on how to overcome the breakdown of communication that the illness creates. It was our primary goal as editors to provide established scientific and clinical knowledge in comprehensible language and to touch upon more recent objects of research. As the reader may notice, we also cover aspects of the disease that have not yet been discussed in the available textbooks on AD. We certainly hope that Alzheimer’s Disease: A Physician’s Guide to Practical Management will serve as a rich source of information that can be utilized by physicians in their daily practice of diagnosing and treating patients with AD. We must particularly bear in mind that the disease still appears to be underdiagnosed and undertreated (1). Supporting physicians in their management of AD is a way of helping patients and families to live better with the disease and to cope with the problems it poses. As we all know, dealing with an AD patient can be an extremely sad and frustrating task. Perhaps this book, by providing practical guidance, can make the task a little easier and help to “keep our hearts open in hell,” as a caregiver once said (2). Ralph Walter Richter, MD, FACP Brigitte Zoeller Richter, DiplPharm 1. Reichman, W.E.: Current pharmacologic options for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Ann Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2003; 2: 1. 2. Cited from: Thobaben, M.: Helping families understand and communicate with family members who suffer from dementia. Home Care Provid 1999; 4: 139–139,146. v Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................ v Contributors ............................................................................................................................. xi Part I Scientific Background of Alzheimer’s Disease 1 Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders.................................................. 3 John Hardy 2 Neuropathology of Alzheimer’s Disease ........................................................................... 21 Christian Schultz, Kelly Del Tredici, and Heiko Braak 3 Oxidative Stress in the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias ........................................................................................................ 33 Domenico Praticò 4 Metabolism and Alzheimer’s Disease ...............................................................................

Load more