Jakob-Creutzfeldt Disease
A 68-year-old man presented to our clinic for evaluation of a five-month history of memory problems. Memory loss, feeling “funny,” and loss of appetite were initial symptoms. At the first…
Evaluating the Patient with Memory Loss or Dementia
Quick Start Evaluating the Patient with Memory Loss or Dementia • Talking with the family (or other caregivers) is critical to obtaining an accurate history. • Important elements of the…
Vascular Dementia and Vascular Cognitive Impairment
A 74-year-old man presented to the clinic with a six-year history of cognitive and functional decline. His family reported that his problems began with “small TIAs.” When we asked them…
Why Diagnose and Treat Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Dementia?
A 72-year-old woman comes into the clinic at the urging of her son. She has noticed some difficulties finding words for the past six months, but denies problems with memory…
Dementia with Lewy Bodies (Including Parkinson’s Disease Dementia)
A 65-year-old man came to the clinic complaining of cognitive difficulties. He had been forgetful for about a year, often confused, and was unable to use the television remote. When…
Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Due to Alzheimer’s Disease
(See Chapters 2 and 3 for additional information.) Quick Start 1 Alzheimer’s Disease Definition • Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease of the brain characterized by a clinical dementia with…
Approach to the Patient with Memory Loss, Mild Cognitive Impairment, or Dementia
In this chapter we propose a strategy for evaluating patients with concerns about their memory and/or other aspects of cognition that will lead to a diagnosis and treatment plan. Quick…
Gene Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Abstract Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that impacts approximately 1:10,000 live births. SMA is caused by deletion or loss-of-function mutations in the Survival Motor Neuron 1…
Stem Cell Therapy for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Abstract Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a challenging disease characterized by progressive loss of motor neurons. This is manifested in deterioration of strength, gait, speech, swallowing, respiratory function, and eventually…
Cellular Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Pearls and Pitfalls
Abstract Spinal muscular atrophies (SMAs) include a series of neuromuscular genetic disorders due to mutations in the survival motor neuron 1 ( SMN1 ) gene. The SMA 5q form represents…
