Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia: A Guide for Families begins by explaining Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and how to manage problems with memory, language, vision, emotion, behavior, sleep, and bodily functions. Next discussed are which medications help-and which make things worse. Caring for yourself and building a care team are then covered, as well as how to sustain your relationship. Final chapters discuss the progression of dementia, the eventual death, and how to plan for life afterwards. It is written in an easy-to-read style, featuring clinical vignettes and character-based stories that provide real-life examples of how to successfully manage Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Andrew E. Budson
Chief, Cognitive & Behavioral Neurology and Associate Chief of Staff for Education, VA Boston Healthcare System
Associate Director & Education Core Leader, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center
Professor of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine
Lecturer in Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Maureen K. O'Connor
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Department of Psychology

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Step 1 Understand dementia
1 What is dementia?
2 What is Alzheimer's disease?
3 Which other disorders cause dementia?
Step 2 Manage problems
4 How to approach problems in dementia
5 How to manage memory problems
6 How to manage language problems
7 How to manage vision problems
8 How to manage emotional problems
9 How to manage behavioral problems
10 How to manage sleep problems
11 How to manage problems with bodily functions
Step 3 Ask about medications
12 Which medications can worsen thinking, memory, behavior, or function?
13 Which medications can improve thinking, memory, behavior, or function?
Step 4 Build your care team
14 Why and how should you care for yourself?
15 How do you build your care team?
Step 5 Sustain your relationship
16 Why is it important to sustain your relationship?
17 What are some ways to sustain your relationship?
Step 6 Plan for the future
18 How to plan for the progression of dementia
19 How to plan for the end and beyond
Glossary (with additional disorders and neuroanatomy)
Further resources
About the authors
Index