A new epidemiologic study showed that patients with early stage dementia, who had been referred to a specialist, have twice the risk of institutionalization compared to those who are not, according to a research study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease this month. The research suggested the influence of early specialist referral for dementia patients on institutionalization risk and demonstrated that the benefits of early dementia diagnosis may lead to challenging issues.
There has been a decades long debate about the advantages and effectiveness of early dementia diagnosis. Many experts have argued that although no anti-dementia drug to date has had any significant clinical effectiveness, early diagnosis of dementia could be relevant to implement tailored strategies and thus improve individuals’ prognoses. Others worried about the ramifications of labelling such debilitating symptoms.
– EurekAlert