Study plan for dementia patients and differential diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Dementia is a disorder with multiple etiologies. A diagnostic plan must be established before starting the study of a dementia patient, including clinical history, and physical and neurological exams. Key data should be searched through the history on the development of the disease and the familiar background of dementia. Even though Alzheimer's dementia (AD) is the most frequent one, the diagnosis of this disorder should only be established when other causes have been ruled out. This paper proposes a sequential and stepwise program in order to get a proper diagnosis.