Published in:
01-07-2013 | Introduction
Diagnosis and Treatment of Dementia: the Fourth Canadian Consensus Conference
Authors:
Christopher Patterson, Serge Gauthier
Published in:
Alzheimer's Research & Therapy
|
Special Issue 1/2013
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Excerpt
It is inevitable that when discoveries are made in any medical field there is pressure to move expeditiously to clinical applications of these discoveries. While there is every reason to disseminate widely the results of efficacious therapeutic trials that improve meaningful clinical outcomes, and diagnostic strategies that are more sensitive, more specific, less burdensome to the patient and more parsimonious of resources, some restraint is advisable when the benefits are less compelling. For example, a technique that allows an earlier diagnosis of an incurable disease - such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) - risks labeling an individual, affecting the person's ability to acquire life, health or travel insurance, and may result in suspension of driving privileges. …
