The Scourge of HIV Infection in Sub-Saharan Africa — A Rheumatological Perspective

Abstract

Alzheimer9s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder in today9s developed world that is also increasingly picked out as a focal theme in fictional literature. In dealing with the subjectivity of human experience, such literature enhances the reader9s empathy and is able to teach about moral, emotional and philosophical issues, offering the chance to see situations from a position otherwise possibly never taken by the reader. The understanding and insight so gained may well be unscientific, but the literary approach offers an insight into the whole person9s perspective and the particularity and uniqueness of a situation that includes ethical conflicts. A key motif of fictional literature centred around dementia remains the burden the adult-child carer is confronted with, considering the parent9s remorseless decline and personality change, the sudden demand for devoted and continuous care, and the constantly changing relationship with the declining parent. In the context of an ever increasing demand for a constructive public discussion regarding end-of-life treatment of demented patients, Christine Devars (<i>Le Piano Désaccordé</i>) and Andrés Barba (<i>Ahora Tocad Música de Baile</i>) illustrate how powerful and burdensome the impact of Alzheimer9s disease is on both patient and carer and what extremes may be reached under such truly exceptional circumstances.