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Previous Volume 334:791-792 March 21, 1996 Number 12 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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After a certain age, when people forget something they may say jokingly, Is this the first sign of dementia? Some may laugh, but the laughter is uncomfortable. Dementia is too common. Everyone wonders, could it happen to me? In the developed world most people now survive into old age, and the rate of dementia increases sharply with age. By the age of 85 years, at least 30 percent of people have major impairments in thinking and memory,^1,2 and Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause. The earliest signs are impossible to distinguish from normal forgetfulness or a person's eccentricities. For . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Zeisel, J., Silverstein, N. M., Hyde, J., Levkoff, S., Lawton, M. P., Holmes, W. (2003). Environmental Correlates to Behavioral Health Outcomes in Alzheimer's Special Care Units. Gerontologist 43: 697-711 [Abstract] [Full Text]