title: Alzheimer's disease management guideline: update 2008.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Frequent review and update of guidelines are necessary for them to remain current and useful for clinical practices. This second revision of the postdiagnostic management of Alzheimer's disease (AD) guideline by the California Workgroup was prompted by significant advances in knowledge about appropriate care management, including pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches to treatment of the disease, accompanying behavioral problems, and functional decline. The focus remains explicitly on primary care, where the majority of it occurs for those with AD and other dementias.
  
  
  METHODS
  In all, 40 experts in dementia care were recruited from a variety of disciplines across California. Four workgroups were created that reviewed recent research findings from a total of 569 publications since 2002. The revised Guideline incorporates 305 new references, including 11 state and federal laws, in addition to 78 references from the previous version.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Guideline is divided into four sections that address postdiagnostic management: (1) assessment, (2) treatment, (3) patient and family education and support, and (4) legal considerations associated with AD. Significant revisions and changes in each area and the underlying research to support the recommendations are presented in this article. New topics related to early stage and end-of-life were identified and recommendations were developed for these specific populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Guideline recommendations provide a framework to inform and improve medical care for AD by primary health care providers.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA. segalgi@usc.edu
authors.forename: Freddi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Segal-Gidan
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cherry
authors.forename: Randi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hewett
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chodosh
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002140:California; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards; D012944:Social Support