ABSTRACT
In Chapter 3, we looked in detail at the main diagnoses of dementia. In Chapter 5, we will explore the actual process of diagnosis. Here we will focus on looking at the main methods of assessment used in clinics to help tease out what underlies the problems a person is experiencing. The main bulk of this chapter will concern neuropsychological assessment and neuroimaging. On top of that, we will also consider quality of life as gauging this is essential for evaluating individual function. The premise here is that specific diseases start by affecting certain well-defined processes. In other words, their effect is focal. Following on from this, the progression of each disease follows a typical pattern, affecting one structure after another. Because of this, there is a relatively predictable pattern of impairment.
