The European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) and the European Neurological Society (ENS) have published revised guidelines on the diagnosis and management of disorders associated with dementia. These are dementias other than Alzheimer’s disease, such as vascular cognitive impairment, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, dementia with Lewy bodies, corticobasal syndrome, progressive supranuclear palsy, Parkinson’s disease dementia, Huntington’s disease, prion diseases, normal-pressure hydrocephalus, limbic encephalitis and other toxic and metabolic disorders.
Published in the European Journal of Neurology, the goal of the new guidelines is to present peer-reviewed evidence-based statements for the guidance of practice for clinical neurologists, geriatricians, psychiatrists and other specialist physicians responsible for the care of patients with dementing disorders. It represents a statement of minimum desirable standards for practice guidance.
The guideline authors point out that “despite the fact that there is significant evidence for
the benefits of early diagnostic evaluation, treatment and social support, the rate of diagnosis and treatment in people with dementia varies considerably in Europe. Primary care physicians play a major role in the identification, diagnosis and management of patients with dementia, but advanced diagnostic techniques necessitate the involvement of specialists, especially neurologists, preferably in multidisciplinary teams established to facilitate the management of the complex needs of patients and caregivers during the course of the dementia disease.”
EFNS-ENS Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of disorders associated with dementia.
European Journal of Neurology. Volume 19, Issue 9, pages 1159–1179, September 2012
