title: Conceptualizing Alzheimer's disease as a terminal medical illness.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease is a common illness of the elderly population, with an estimated prevalence of 4.5 million people in the United States and 24.3 million worldwide. Despite current pharmaceutic advances in delaying disease progression, there is no cure. This article reviews the evidence for conceptualizing Alzheimer's disease as a terminal medical illness. Discussed are principles of palliative care as applied to the patient with Alzheimer's disease and the patient's family.
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Medicine, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, 270-05 76th Ave, New Hyde Park, NY 11040, USA. gwolf@nshs.edu
authors.forename: Gisele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wolf-Klein
authors.forename: Renee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pekmezaris
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weiner
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States