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Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease, Caregiving, and Family Dynamics

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Caregiving for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders

Part of the book series: Caregiving: Research • Practice • Policy ((CARE))

Abstract

With the aging of society, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) poses a potential public health crisis. This potential crisis has spurred research on making an early diagnosis of AD. Progress has been made in identifying AD risk factors, including those involving genetics. This progress has led to hope that prevention models might work in AD as they have in cancer and heart disease. These trends offer exciting new directions in AD research. However, the potential impact of these trends on AD caregivers has received little consideration. The goal of this chapter is to explore the potential impact of early diagnosis, advances in genetics, and prevention models on AD caregivers. An examination of what is currently known in these areas will be followed by discussion of the research, education, practice, and policy needs these trends have created. Finally, we will speculate about future directions in AD caregiving that may result from early diagnosis and prevention efforts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street, SE, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Glenn E. Smith PhD

  2. Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street, SE, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Angela Lunde BA

Authors
  1. Glenn E. Smith PhD
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  2. Angela Lunde BA
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Glenn E. Smith PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept. Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA

    Steven H. Zarit

  2. Western Kentucky University, College Heights Boulevard 1906, Bowling Green, 42101, Kentucky, USA

    Ronda C. Talley

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Smith, G.E., Lunde, A. (2013). Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease, Caregiving, and Family Dynamics. In: Zarit, S., Talley, R. (eds) Caregiving for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders. Caregiving: Research • Practice • Policy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5335-2_1

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