Expert Column
Medical and Policies Director
Harvey Gilbert, MD, is a radiation oncologist with over thirty-five years of professional experience...read more
Articles In This Column
- Aging Skin Care: How to Treat Common Skin Disorders of the Elderly
- Aging Skin: How Your Skin Plays a Role in Protecting Your Body
- Aging Skin Care: What You Need to Know Now to Avoid Wrinkles & Sun Damage
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Symptoms & Treatment
- Gastrointestinal Acid Reflux Disease (GERD): Symptoms & Long-Term Effects
- Treatment for Gastrointestinal Acid Reflux Disease (GERD)
- How to Avoid Developing Bone Density Deficiency & Osteoporosis
- Thyroid Conditions: Should You Have Your Thyroid Checked?
- Treatment for Thyroid Conditions: Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism & Cancer
- Prevent a Heart Attack: Learn How Metabolic Syndrome Affects Your Chances of Heart Disease
- How to Prevent Cancer & Improve Your Chances of Survival After Diagnosis
- How Stroke Symptoms Affect Your Brain
- Do You Know What to Do If You Think You Are Having a Stroke or a Mini-Stroke?
- What to Expect After a Major Stroke: Examination & Therapy
- Parkinson's Disease Symptoms & Disease Progression
- Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis
- Treating Parkinson's: Deep Brain Stimulation, Neuro-rehabilitation & Parkinson's Disease Medications
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Treatment Options
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Causes, Symptoms & Prevention
- Treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Common Forms of Arthritis & How to Treat Them
- Treatments for Osteoarthritis
- Cancer Treatment: The Effectiveness of Herbal Medicines
- Healthy Eating Guidelines to Help You Avoid the Deadly Metabolic Syndrome
- Safe & Effective Alternative Therapies for Cancer—& Which Ones to Avoid
- 4 Essential Lifestyle Changes that Can Help Prevent Diabetes, Heart Diseases & Dementia
- 4 Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease
- A Miracle Food to Protect Your Heart & Blood Vessels
- Natural Treatment for Arthritis Pain
- What All Women Should Know About Hormone Replacement Therapy, Breast Cancer & Dementia
- Depression: Do You Need Antidepressants?
- Hormone Replacement Therapy & the Breast Cancer Link
- Osteoporosis: Prevention, Treatment & Risk Factors
- Polypharmacy & Seniors: Avoiding Drug Interactions
- How to Find the Medical Information You Want on the Internet
- Study: Baby Boomers on Aging, Working, Technology & Financing Long Term Care
- 10 Types of Dementia That Aren't Alzheimer's & How They're Diagnosed
- What are the 7 Stages of Alzheimer's Disease?
- What Causes Alzheimer's Disease?
- Exercise Guidelines for Seniors & Cancer Patients: Part 2
- Exercise Guidelines for Seniors and Cancer Patients: Part 1
- Is Exercise or Rest Better for Patients with Cancer or Chronic Illness?
- The Effects of Exercise on Specific Cancers
- Do Vitamins Help or Hurt Cancer Patients?
- How Does Your Health Affect Your Response to Cancer Treatment?
- The All-In-1 Pocket Guide to Healthy Choices
- A Summary: Older Americans Update 2006: Key Indicators of Well-Being
- Is Obesity Linked to Cancer?
- How Ethnicity & Gender Affect Cancer Incidence & Mortality Rates
- Prostate Cancer: Is Surgery REALLY the Most Effective Treatment?
- What the Future Looks Like for Cancer in the US
- How Yoga, Oriental Herbs and Acupuncture Help Treat Cancer
- Cancer: Aggressive Treatment or None at All?



I just received your article on the diferent types o dementia via my Google Alert on LBD. My husband has been waring with Lewybodies and PD or whatever it turns out to be at the end of this long slow journey..for about seven years. We have a small private foundation and work with MIND in Boston, the LBDA and the MJFox foundation. Please keep me informed as to your efforts. Thank you, Marjorie Carmen.
I am happy to see this information. I work with the elderly. OFTEN their dementia is caused by medication or an illness that can be treated but they are just referred to as having Alzheimers and not tested for more treatable causes. It makes me sad. Electrolyte imblanaces are common but not always checke for. I try to let people know that there are other problems than can cause memory loss and confusion but I am not in the medical field so not sure anyone pays attention to me. Please do not accept a diagnosis of Alzheimers unless your loved one has been tested for other causes. They could get precious years back with proper treatment.
I believe that you are correct. Dementia is a disorder of cognition and memory, which is altered by many factors. Most drug- and illness-related dementia is quite temporary and can be reversed quite easily. Vascular (blood supply) and Alzheimer’s are not easily reversible but if caught early enough, can be delayed and in some cases reversed by either tackling their causes—in vascular dementia, lifestyle changes are very helpful—and in most serious dementias, the use of rehabilitation techniques like Brain Metrix permit retraining the brain to function using differing pathways. Thus, one answer does not fit all problems. Thanks.