Suspecting dementia: canaries, chameleons and zebras

As the number of people with dementia worldwide approaches 50 million, the need for early and accurate diagnosis is more urgent than ever. However, the biggest challenge is often suspecting dementia in the first place and deciding why this is not ‘just’ Alzheimer’s disease. Associate Editor of Practical Neurology, Dr Tom Hughes, Department of Neurology, Cardiff, interviews Dr Jeremy Johnson and Dr Jason Warren, both from the Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, about their recent paper, in which they outline a practical, symptom-led, bedside approach to suspecting dementia and its likely diagnosis, inspired by clinical experience and based on recognition of characteristic syndromic patterns. You can read the paper on the Practical Neurology website (https://pn.bmj.com/content/21/4/300) and the August print issue of the journal. The paper is also discussed by Practical Neurology editors, Dr Phil Smith and Dr Geraint Fuller, in their latest podcast: https://soundcloud.com/bmjpodcasts/editors-highlights-of-the-august-2021-issue?in=bmjpodcasts/sets/pn-podcast Please subscribe to the Practical Neurology podcast via all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify, to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider leaving us a review or a comment on the Practical Neurology Podcast iTunes page (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pn-podcast/id942932053). Thank you for listening.

Om Podcasten

The Practical Neurology Podcast is the essential guide for the everyday life of all neurologists. Just like our journal Practical Neurology, this podcast is useful for everyone who sees neurological patients and who wants to keep up-to-date and safe in managing them. In other words, this is a podcast for jobbing neurologists who plough through the tension headaches and funny turns week in and week out. Subscribe to enjoy deep dives into each journal issue with editors Prof. Philip Smith and Dr. Geraint Fuller, discussions on recent case reports with Prof. Martin Turner, and Editor’s Choice article discussions between authors and Dr. Amy Ross Russell. Practical Neurology - pn.bmj.com - is included as part of a subscription to JNNP and provided in print to all members of the Association of British Neurologists. * The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. The content of this podcast does not constitute medical advice and it is not intended to function as a substitute for a healthcare practitioner’s judgement, patient care or treatment. The views expressed by contributors are those of the speakers. BMJ does not endorse any views or recommendations discussed or expressed on this podcast. Listeners should also be aware that professionals in the field may have different opinions. By listening to this podcast, listeners agree not to use its content as the basis for their own medical treatment or for the medical treatment of others.