This guide to diagnosis and management of agitation in patients with dementia covers topics including: agitation in the elderly; definitional and theoretical conceptualizations; two epidemiology dementia; differential diagnosis of agitation in dementia; and bright light therapy.

It also explains how to look for and treat the underlying medical etiologies, and recommends treatment and management techniques, including: -Definitional and theoretical conceptualizations of agitation in the elderly; the epidemiology (i.e., the possible relationships involving agitation and dementia, and the dynamic between symptoms and the care setting) and neurochemistry (i.e., the neurobiological changes of behavior involve biochemical and structural causes, not structural causes alone) of agitation -Behavior assessment scales as evaluation tools; differential diagnoses (distinguishing delirium, depression, psychosis, and anxiety from the many precipitating and maintaining factors underlying agitation); clinical assessment and management of agitation in residential and other settings (extremely difficult and frustrating, often leading to staff and caregiver burnout) -Nonpharmacological interventions, such as a systemic approach to psychotherapy for both patient and caregiver (with some response rates as high as 70%), bright light therapy (promising but unproven), electroconvulsive therapy (effectiveAwith minimal and temporary side effectsAfor severe, treatment-intolerant, or treatment-resistant illness), and hormone replacement therapies -The pathophysiology, pharmacology, and clinical data of serotonergic agents, mood stabilizers, neuroleptics, beta blockers, benzodiazepines, and other miscellaneous agents -The legal and ethical issues in treating agitation in patients with dementiaAfinding the balance between autonomy and beneficence in the treatment of an agitated patient with dementia is difficult at best, with the challenge being to allow the patientAs participation as long and as fully as possible This book will appeal to a wide audience of geriatric psychiatrists, primary care physicians and internists, general practitioners, nurses, social workers, psychologists, pharmacists, and mental health care workers and practitioners.

Introduction to the clinical practice series. Introduction. Agitation in the elderly: Definitional and theoretical conceptualizations. Epidemiology of agitation. Neurochemistry of agitation. Use of behavioral assessment scales for evaluating agitation in dementia. Differential diagnosis of agitation in dementia: Psychiatric conditions: delirium, depression, psychosis, and anxiety. Clinical assessment and management of agitation in residential settings. Nursing care adaptations, behavioral interventions, environmental changes, and sensory enhancement: conceptual, process, and outcome issues. Psychotherapeutic interventions. Bright light therapy. Serotonergic agents. Mood stabilizers. Neuroleptics. Beta-Blockers, benzodiazepines, and other miscellaneous agents. Electroconvulsive therapy. Hormone Therapies. Legal and ethical issues. Index