Alzheimer

A neurologist and neuroscientist, Bernard Croisile heads the department of neuro-psychology at Lyon's Neurological Hospital, where he leads a special 'memory consultation' to evaluate perceived memory loss and memory disorders and to provide an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. He is a member of the scientific advisory board of the France-Alzheimer-Rh?ne Association and teaches at the University of Lyon. 'A week doesn't go by without Alzheimer's disease being mentioned in an article, radio broadcast or televised testimony. And yet, many people have only a limited knowledge of the disease. Numerous received ideas persist, along with erroneous notions and malicious assertions: people still talk of senile dementia; screening; and, in 2011, treatments for Alzheimer's disease were even qualified as dangerous and ineffective. 'The general public is ignorant of the fact that Alzheimer's disease is linked to age and not to ageing; that very young people can suffer from it; and that patients at the initial stages of the disease remain largely autonomous. And recently it has become known that it does not always start with memory lapses. All of this may seem surprising, given that the image of a forgetful elderly person is so fI'mly set in our mieds. 'I should like to make people understand that the future holds more hope than fear: hope in future treatments and, in the short term, in the positive effects of preventive attitudes which are beginning to bear fruit. The face of this disease has changed, ' writes Bernard Croisile.- A clear and thorough review of a disease of which we now have a better understanding.- Prevention, treatments and therapeutic advances.- A reference work and a source of hope, by an eminent French specialist.- In France, 700,000 people suffer from Alzheimer's disease.