[Alzheimer-type dementia: clinical experience in 71 cases]

The clinical criteria used for making the diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer type are featured, presenting the experience with 71 patients who fulfilled those prerequisites. The manifestations began generally over the age of 60, predominantly in females, and frequently there was a history of affection in other family members. The symptoms most frequently found were memory defects, lack of abstraction and anosognosia. The diagnosis depended most often on the clinical findings rather than the laboratory studies, which could be normal. It is worth noting the variable clinical courses found indicating that we are dealing with a heterogeneous population. It is suggested that dementia of the Alzheimer type and normal senility are not contrasting conditions but rather a continuum of the same process.