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Pain and Palliative Care in Late-Stage Dementia Patients

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Alzheimer’s Disease

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Neurology ((CCNEU))

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Abstract

Dementia is certainly one of the most dramatic medical and economic challenges that our society will face in the coming years (1). If the specificity of care appears incontestable at the early stages of the disease (959,000 new cases of dementia per year in the United States in 1994—ninth most frequent disease in incidence) (2), the care at the end of life of the 7,082,000 existing demented patients (eighth most prevalent disease in the United States) has to be better considered, provided, and studied (2). Geriatricians and palliative care specialists are particularly concerned, because for each decade after the sixth, the number of affected people doubles, so that an estimated 30% of the population older than 85 years of age is affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (3,4). The end-of-life care of demented patients needs to reach the best possible quality. Its intensity has to be appropriated, timely, and ethically adapted, considering the multiple circumstances, family concerns, and the different environmental conditions (living at home or in an institution).

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Authors
  1. Sophie Pautex
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  2. Dina Zekry
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  3. Gilbert Zulian
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  4. Gabriel Gold
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  5. Jean-Pierre Michel
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, USA

    Ralph W. Richter MD, FACP (Clinical Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, Director) (Clinical Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, Director)

  2. Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit, St. John Medical Center, Tulsa, OK, USA

    Ralph W. Richter MD, FACP (Clinical Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, Director) (Clinical Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, Director)

  3. Tulsa, OK, USA

    Brigitte Zoeller Richter DiplPharm (Pharmacist, Publicist) (Pharmacist, Publicist)

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Pautex, S., Zekry, D., Zulian, G., Gold, G., Michel, JP. (2004). Pain and Palliative Care in Late-Stage Dementia Patients. In: Richter, R.W., Richter, B.Z. (eds) Alzheimer’s Disease. Current Clinical Neurology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-661-4_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-661-4_25

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-4485-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-661-4

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