Neurological disorders in the elderly at home.

Severity of Neurological Disorders in Elderly Residents of a Farming Town in Kyushu, Japan; Prevalence of Disability in Activities of Daily Living.

“…The neurological symptomsseem to be caused by the biological or pathological loss of nerve cells, especially in cerebral white matter or basal ganglia, due to aging or to neurological diseases, such as multiple cerebral infarction, Parkinson' s disease and parkinsonism, and senile dementia (2,3,18). Furthermore, we found many neurological disorders, including multiple cerebral infarction, parkinsonism, or compression myelo/radiculoneuropathy due to cervical and/or lumbar spondylosis in the elderly living at home, as described in previous reports (2,3,5).…”

“…Indeed, previous surveys found that the elderly residents in a community frequently had abnormal neurological symptoms and signs, and numerous symptomatic neurological disorders (2,3,5). Although most neuroepidemiological studies to date have been oriented towarddisease entities, a fewcommunitysurveys have been undertaken to define the prevalence of abnormal neurological manifestations and disability in ADLwithin a community (2,3,6,7). Relatively few data are available on the prevalence of disability in ADLamong the elderly living in rural Japanese communities.…”

“…The activities of daily living (ADL) of the elderly are adversely affected by deterioration of motor, mental, and emotional functions. Such deterioration is often associated with chronic neurological disorders, such as cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism, dementia, and diseases of the spine or spinal cord, in addition to aging (2)(3)(4). Indeed, previous surveys found that the elderly residents in a community frequently had abnormal neurological symptoms and signs, and numerous symptomatic neurological disorders (2,3,5).…”

“…Such deterioration is often associated with chronic neurological disorders, such as cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism, dementia, and diseases of the spine or spinal cord, in addition to aging (2)(3)(4). Indeed, previous surveys found that the elderly residents in a community frequently had abnormal neurological symptoms and signs, and numerous symptomatic neurological disorders (2,3,5). Although most neuroepidemiological studies to date have been oriented towarddisease entities, a fewcommunitysurveys have been undertaken to define the prevalence of abnormal neurological manifestations and disability in ADLwithin a community (2,3,6,7).…”

Vascular dementia--still overdiagnosed.

“…23 A high "Ischemic Score" can identify patients who have had a stroke, but prior stroke doesn't necessarily mean that vascular disease caused or even contributed to the dementia. Yet that seems to be the underlying assumption of many investigators estimating etiologic prevalences [24][25][26][27][28][29] or studying psychological, metabolic, or other clinical features in demented patient. [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] When studies rest upon such shaky terrain, it is hardly surprising that their conclusions are conflicting.…”