ABSTRACT
More than half of all the patients with dementia suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Nevertheless there can be great difficulties involved in making the diagnosis. Frequently someone with behavioral and memory disturbances first pays a visit, accompanied by a worried spouse, son, daughter or close friend, to his own doctor. Having assessed the situation, the doctor will refer him to the specialist. Nowadays the diagnosis is often made by a team of specialists, consisting of a psychiatrist, a neurologist, a geriatrician, a psychologist, a social worker and a nurse. This multidisciplinary approach offers the greatest guarantee of not being too late in establishing treatable causes of memory disturbances, such as depression or certain somatic disorders.
