Look for the “Treatables” among dementias: It is lifesaving: An experience from a tertiary care center in India in the past 5 years

Abstract

Context: The aim is to awaken our colleagues to these reversible conditions. These are live saving if understood properly are life saving for patients. That is the purpose of this article and discussed in introduction. Aim: The aim of this study is to identify possible treatable causes in patients who present with progressive cognitive decline. These patients can be identified only by high degree of suspicion, thorough clinical examination and appropriate choosing of case-based investigations. This will be highly rewarding to the patients, their family, and to the treating physician. In this article, we are sharing our experience with the treatable dementias identified which were masquerading as degenerative. Settings and Design: Retrospective study. Subjects and Methods: Retrospective study of patients seen by the authors in the past 5 years who had all the mandatory recommended investigation done was included. Patients who qualified for pseudo-dementia and small vessel disease were not included in the analysis. Statistical Analysis Used: Basic statistical elements only were used as cases in each category are small. Results: Of 1105 patients, 92 had confirmed reversible cause. Among the treatable group immune-mediated dementia formed the largest and constituted about 45.6% followed by infections 19.5%, nutritional 15.2%, and rest were by rare conditions such as Whipple's disease, cerebrotendinious xanthamatosis, mitochondrial disorders, primary demyelination, central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, surgical conditions such as normal pressure hydrocephalus and subdural hematoma. Conclusion: About 12.1% percentage of patients with memory complaint has a reversible cause which when detected early, the quality of life of both the patient and caregiver are significantly improved. Apart from protocol-based categorization of the patients, individualized thorough clinical examinations are mandatory to identify these patients.