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Page 19
December 06-07 , 2018
Amsterdam, Nether l ands
Journal of Neuropsychiatry
ISSN: 2471-8548
Alzheimer’s and Dementia 2018
1 3
t h
W o r l d c o n g r e s s o n
Alzheimer’s and Dementia
C
omprehensive cognitive assessments are essential for accurate diagnosis
and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Patients, with their family
caregivers, are given an opportunity to see inside the disease process; to
understand Alzheimer’s disease is to understand the course of their life. Globally,
the number of people living with dementia affects 50 million and 5.7 million
in the US. AD is neurodegenerative, terminal illness and a disease. Cognitive
assessments are the key element for
proper
diagnosis, proper planning, care
and prognosis of AD. Because an assessment requires input from a person(s)
who knows the patient well, family caregivers provide insights and evidence of
how AD is affecting the patient while each patient’s expression is unique, AD has
a predictable progression/digression. By determining where patients are in the
disease continuum, four key points of decision can be tracked: diagnosis and
primary medical care, eligibility and referral for Alzheimer’s clinical trials, safety/
risk for preventable emergency medical treatment, and status of dependence
with corresponding level of care. In a 4-year grant-funded outpatient clinic, 550
patients were referred by their primary care provider or neurologist for a memory
screening; average age was 72. Tools used for patients are mini-mental status
examination (MMSE-2: EV) and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA v7.0and
tools used for family caregivers are quick dementia rating system (QDRS)
and patient symptom checklist (based on the global deterioration scale). The
assessment was the key element used to clarify/verify an AD diagnosis and
treatment plan for patient and family caregivers.
Biography
Susan Crowson is a Certified Dementia Practitioner with
over 12 years’ of experience in developing systematic
approaches to recognize and identify loss and behaviours
due to dementia. She is the Dementia Specialist for the
Neurology Clinic in Memphis TN providing comprehensive
cognitiveassessmentsandaCertifiedTestingAdministrator
for Alzheimer’s clinical trials. She was Manager of Baptist
Memorial Healthcare Corporation Memory Care Center,
an outpatient memory screening clinic, and Director of
Programs and Advocacy at the Alzheimer's Association
Mid-South Chapter. She provided testimony for the National
Alzheimer's Plan Advisory Council in Washington, DC.
She is Guest Speaker for conferences and teaches about
Dementia to clinical staff and families. In addition to her
professional experience, she was primary Caregiver for her
father who died with Alzheimer's disease in 2010.
susan@susancrowson.comCognitive assessments are essential for diagnosis and
treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
Susan Crowson
CDP, Dementia Specialist, Memphis TN, USA
Susan Crowson, J Neurol Neurosci 2018, Volume: 2
DOI: 10.21767/2471-8548-C1-002