Neurológia pre prax 2/2011

Mood and behaviour disorder in dementias

According to various sources in the literature, dementia is caused by Alzheimer’s dementia in approximately 50–60 %, vascular dementia in 10 % and dementia with Lewy bodies in 15–20 %. In addition to these untreatable or difficult-to-treat conditions, there are causes of dementias which are reversible and these account for about 10 % of dementias. Cognitive disorder is the main symptom in all aetiologies of dementias; however, the risk of patient institutionalization is rather dependent on the severity of noncognitive disorders in dementia syndromes, i. e. behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD). BPSD represent a major burden for caregivers and inadequate BPSD treatment increases the likelihood of failure of the caregiver and of the entire background of the patient. The article presents an overview of BPSD, the methods of examining noncognitive disorders and the treatment options. It aims to be a practical guide for the physician caring for patients with dementia and outlines the topics and aspects that should be remembered when caring for these patients.

Keywords: dementia, behavioural disorder, mental disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia treatment.