Tangled Minds: Understanding Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dememtias

By Muriel R. Gillick

Book Overview

Alzheimer's has struck more than 4 million of the nation's elderly and is the most common form of mental degeneration. In Tangled Minds , Dr. Muriel R. Gillick convincingly demonstrates that confusion and loss of memory resulting from Alzheimer's, or in any form, is a disease known as dementia, and not an inevitable part of aging. Tangled Minds provides a comprehensive overview of dementia, its history, the politics of its fight for recognition, the research being done to discover its causes, and the treatments now being used to alleviate its symptoms. Weaving these details around the story of one Alzheimer's patient, Gillick provides both a human interest story and an analytical study. Clearly describing medical details while fully capturing the pain of dementia with compassionate insight, Tangled Minds is an invaluable resource for family, friends, caregivers, and professionals dealing with Alzheimer's and similar disorders.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452276470
• ISBN13: 9780452276475
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

a combined personal and professional review of Alzheimer's

I picked up this book while browzing the bookstore in an effort to make sense of the behavior my family was seeing in my 87 year old mother who had had a stroke (right brain) in 12/97. Having been told that she was suffering from "vascular dementia", I proceeded to investigate what that really meant. Even my son, a physician, was not really clear on how that differed from Alzheimer's. Dr. Gillick's book outlines a typical course of dementia, from early to late stage using a fictional composite patient drawn from her medical experience. She interstices this story with factual material on legal, political, medical research, and cost issues. I have recommended this book to friends and colleagues interested in aging, particularly related to brain assaults. There is much good material in this book even if the patient is not a diagnosed Alzheimer's sufferer.