Mayo Clinic on Alzheimer's Disease [Paperback]

Ronald Peterson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. Consumer text covers how the brain functions and what can go wrong, conditions causing dementia, conditions that may accompany Alzheimer's, theories about causes, treatment of symptoms, tips for daily caregiving, care arrangements, and care costs. Softcover.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When a family member shows signs of a failing memory, most people look for basic, practical information to help them understand their relative's condition, find appropriate care, and make the best life possible for everyone concerned. This latest in the "Mayo Clinic Health Information" series is an excellent "getting started" introduction. Prepared by a variety of Mayo Clinic experts, it covers the basics of brain function; the causes, signs, and symptoms of late-life memory loss; how it is diagnosed; the latest in available treatments; and current research on promising new remedies, as well as details about the effects of memory disorders on the ill person, families, and caregivers. Most valuable is the "Quick Guide for Caregivers," offering an overview of medical complications, home safety, managing medications, and problem behaviors caused by failing memory, among other essential topics. Rounding out the text are a glossary, resource list, and narrative of one caregiver's experience (none of which was seen in the review galley). Experienced caregivers and others requiring in-depth information should look to Nancy Mace and Peter Rabins's The 36-Hour Day and Michael Castleman and others' There's Still a Person in There. Those unfamiliar with memory disorders are well served by this concise guide.
Karen McNally Bensing, Benjamin Rose Lib., Cleveland
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This informative guide first explains how the brain works and then considers some of its aberrations. Several conditions can mimic Alzheimer's, we discover, so that, for example, beginning to lose one's mnemonic capacity doesn't necessarily mean that Alzheimer's is developing. We don't yet know Alzheimer's cause or causes, though the book explores some possibilities. Then it describes a common course of the disease, noting that there are many variations in the kinds of symptoms manifested and the speed of their onset and progress. Current treatments are described, and present research and clinical trials discussed. Much of the rest of the book suggests how to handle various problems resulting from the disease--material that daily caregivers, especially, will value, as they will the additional advice on how to take care of themselves. The book concludes with remarks on planning for long-term care. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Mayo Clinic; 1 edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893005224
• ISBN-13: 978-1893005228
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BY FAR the MOST HELPFUL book I've read on the subject, June 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mayo Clinic on Alzheimer's Disease (Paperback)

I've TENS of books on the subject (my mother was diagnosed) and this single book has been more helpful than the whole lot combined. I'm on the website now buying copies for all the members of my family and was surprised that no one else had reviewed this book. It has been indescribably informative, useful, comforting, and responsible for creating more peace for my family than you could imagine. Alzheimers is a horrible, heart-breaking disease; this single book has been singularly helpful to us in dealing with the challenges and choices we now face.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Well Done!, January 4, 2005

By 

Jacqueline Marcell "Author, Speaker, Radio Host" (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mayo Clinic on Alzheimer's Disease (Paperback)

I think I have every book written on Alzheimer's, since I had two parents with it and felt compelled by the experience of caring for them to write my own book, but Dr. Petersen has put together a comprehensive guide which you should have if you suspect your loved one may be developing AD. The behaviors caused by Alzheimer's are complex to understand and manage, but this book will help you through it.

Jacqueline Marcell, Author, 'Elder Rage', International Speaker, Host 'Coping With Caregiving' Radio Show

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not best option for most, May 18, 2008

By 

Jan Malcheski - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mayo Clinic on Alzheimer's Disease (Paperback)

Disappointing. Weak effort from influential Mayo Clinic.

While this book may be a good resource for some, the main audience is of course spouses and families dealing with a loved one's presenting symptoms of early stage Alzheimer's. They (and more and more of 'us') are looking for good basic guides and guidance. This is NOT the book for them or 'us.'

Although collecting lots of decent information, way too much seems of limited relevance to the prime audience. Some of the content now seems to the lay reader rather dated. There is too much space given to multifaceted clinical dimensions and too little to support for spouses and families. But more importantly the book is poorly organized and presented. Overall it exhibits weak editing and/or perhaps the cobbling together of other Mayo publications.

In itself this is unfortunate in any book but with a resource of such importance, with the imprimatur and attendant authority of the Mayo Clinic itself, it is most disappointing. I imagine thousands of libraries have purchased this book based on the Mayo name to a large extent. For one of the most pressing and heartbreaking of health issues facing America, they and their patrons deserve better.

An improved edition of this book should rise to the top of Mayo Clinic's to do list...

Jan Malcheski