Late-life dementia. Review of the APA guidelines for patient management.

Management of dementia in older patients requires an individualized and multimodal approach that involves use of psychiatric, psychotherapeutic, psychosocial, and somatic tools and treatments, in addition to patient and family education. The progressive nature of dementia and the invariable presence of comorbidity complicates the management task, although symptoms characteristic of dementia's phases can provide helpful clinical clues to guide evolving care. In 1997, the American Psychiatric Association published the "Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias of late life." To date, this is the most comprehensive clinical guideline available to physicians caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias.