Pitfalls for Diagnoses of Dementia Disease: Careful Points of Attentions in a Diagnosis of Atypical Dementia

Abstract

As the elderly population has increased in the recent years, the number of patients with dementia in Japan has been increasing, and this tendency will continue in the future. Although patients with juvenile-onset (early-onset) dementia form only a small proportion of the whole population with dementia, juvenile-onset dementia is associated with serious social problems with respect to working and burden on caregivers. Juvenile-onset dementia was considered an important item in the "New Orange Plan" devised by the Japanese Government for policy measures against dementia. We should pay careful attention while confirming the diagnosis of dementia because the prognosis of the patient could change thereafter due to inadequate treatment and care. Even if a diagnosis for the patient is not confirmed at an early stage, we need to understand the symptoms, activity of daily life, and levels of various biomarkers, which could aid in confirming the final current diagnosis, thus, leading to administration of adequate treatment.