ALL neurodegenerative forms of dementia are relentlessly progressive

Summary

ALL neurodegenerative forms of dementia are relentlessly

progressive. After the diagnosis is confirmed the course is

palliative. Medications may help symptoms but not the underlying

pathological process.

Support networks such as Alzheimer's Australia and

Metropolitan Domiciliary Care should be available to all patients

diagnosed with dementia. The key to keeping these people at

home within the family unit is providing adequate support to the

carers.

At the current autopsy rate, little will be learnt as to correlating

clinical with pathological findings. Perhaps as new imaging

techniques filter down we may become better at antemortem

diagnosis.

In the meantime we should return to historic practices of

realising the importance of postmortem diagnosis to inform the

family of future risks and primary prevention methods, and to

provide practitioners with diagnostic certainty.

In SA the Brain Bank does just this, although it is societal

values that often prevent brains from reaching this valuable

resource. Educating practitioners and family members about the

importance of services like these will see them survive to provide

essential information and improve the understanding and delivery

of health services in the future.