[Alzheimer-type dementia. Clinico-epidemiologic data and therapeutic outlook].
The authors discuss the diagnostic criteria in dementia of Alzheimer's type, underlining the benefits of an early diagnosis and consequently of an initiation of an adequate treatment. The importance of a detailed case history, clinical examination, laboratory investigations and behaviour ranging scales in mentioned. Effective management is based upon the administration, as early as possible, of drugs at active doses and upon structuring the environment to compensate for the cognitive limitations of the affected individual.