Fact sheet on the Care of people with dementia in primary care published by the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Key points
- Psychological therapies can promote positive coping strategies in the mild/moderate stages of dementia
- Vascular risk management is important in both vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
- Advance Care Planning discussions should occur before mental capacity is lost
- Cholinesterase inhibitors can be prescribed in the moderate stages of AD
- For behavioural problems, non-drug approaches should be tried first; if symptoms persist, benzodiazepines, SSRIs and anti-convulsants may help./li>
- Early referral to palliative care teams may give better symptom control in end of life care