Abstract
Dementia is a syndrome of acquired cognitive deficits which interfere with executive functioning that typically occurs in older adults. There are many different potential etiologies including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and Lewy body dementia. Though significant neurocognitive decline is the hallmark of dementia neuropsychiatric symptoms often drive clinical presentation. These symptoms can occur with all forms of dementia and include depression, anxiety, agitation, psychosis, disinhibition, and sleep disturbance. Diagnosis is obtained through a careful history, collateral sources, cognitive exam, and neuroimaging. Dementia is often first recognized in emergency settings.
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Sharp, C.S. (2018). Dementia. In: Nordstrom, K., Wilson, M. (eds) Quick Guide to Psychiatric Emergencies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58260-3_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58260-3_14
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