As director of psychiatry at Hebrew SeniorLife for 18 years, Dr. Metzger has witnessed a number of changes in how we manage agitation and other elements of BPSD. In this article, he outlines current thinking about such symptoms, as well as the latest techniques—both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic—for managing them.

There used to be this rule of thumb that you don’t need to worry about people who are worried about their memory; you need to worry about people who aren’t worried. And that might be true for people with dementia, where there is often a loss of insight. But if you want to pick up memory problems at the earlier, mild cognitive impairment stage, do an evaluation when someone is worried about memory loss.

It’s possible that BZD use causes cognitive decline, but it’s equally possible that patients with preexisting dementia are prescribed BZDs to alleviate psychiatric symptoms related to dementia. A new, very large study adds to our fund of knowledge on this issue.

Review of this study regarding the effects of a Mediterranean diet on age-related cognitive decline: Valis-Pedret C et al, JAMA Intern Med 2015. 11.doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.1668. Epub ahead of print.

There’s a new medication on the market for the treatment of dementia—the first to come along in several years.

If you’re like most psychiatrists, you get your fair share of older folks who come into the office complaining of difficulties with sleep or with significant symptoms of anxiety.

Get advice on how to assess and work with patients with cognitive impairment and dementia, in an interview with Marc Agronin, MD, Geriatric Psychiatrist and Vice President of Behavioral Health and Clinical Research at Miami Jewish Health Systems.

Many medications have anticholinergic side effects, which can be particularly troublesome for the elderly.

It’s commonly known that the risk of developing dementia is related to education level, history of head trauma, family history, and genetics. But could personality also play a role?

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