The dementia challenge is the largest health effort of the times we live in. The whole society has to move to a realization of the significance of prioritization to make an attempt in the direction of mental health promotion and dementia risk reduction. New priorities for research are needed to go far beyond the usual goal of constructing a disease course-modifying medication. Moreover, a full empowerment and engagement of men and women living with dementia and their caregivers, overcoming stigma and discrimination should be promoted. The common efforts and the final aim will have to be the progress of a ''dementia-constructive'' world, where people with dementia can take advantage of equal opportunities.

Dementia is the most significant health issue facing our aging population. With no cure to date, there is an urgent need for the development of interventions that can alleviate symptoms of dementia and ensure optimal well-being for people with dementia and their caregivers. There is accumulating evidence that music is a highly effective, non-pharmacological treatment for various symptoms of dementia at all stages of disease progression. In its various forms, music (as a medium for formal therapy or an informal activity) engages widespread brain regions, and in doing so, can promote numerous benefits, including triggering memories, enhancing relationships, affirming a sense of self, facilitating communication, reducing agitation, and alleviating depression and anxiety. This book outlines the current research and understanding of the use of music for people with dementia, from internationally renowned experts in music therapy, music psychology, and clinical neuropsychology.

In The Monster We Defied: A Son's Alzheimer's Recital Dr. Page paints his portrait of his mother Mary, of Danvers, Massachusetts, and her decline into Alzheimer's disease with the inclusion of journal entries she herself wrote, of medical notes by her various doctors and of extensive audio recordings he made with her. It describes his shock and disbelief upon learning that Mary, his 86 year-old mother, still full of life and as vivacious as ever, has dementia. And he must watch, and care for her, and chronicle her slow descent from a life-loving, independent spirit to a woman who can no longer drive, who can no longer be trusted to cook, who can no longer balance her checkbook or who can no longer change the stations of the television. Page draws from his own professional experience and training in helping others who have suffered from depression and trauma, and he turns that practice and awareness to his own ends as he begins his new education in living with and loving someone with Alzheimer's disease. He uses the audio recordings that his mother made with him over the course of eight years to reveal the changing voice of Mary Page as she punctuates the narrative with her own innately eloquent words and indomitable spirit. Singly and together, the mother and son recite their passages through voices raised in anger, in doubts, in poetry, in humor, in song, in questioning, in memory and in hope. Nursing home notes, the results of mental status examinations, and caretakers's observations appear in striking counterpoint to the author's compelling personal reflections on and responses to them.

Christine Bryden was a top civil servant and single mother of three children when she was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 46. Dancing with Dementia is a vivid account of her experiences of living with dementia, exploring the effects of memory problems, loss of independence, difficulties in communication and the exhaustion of coping with simple tasks. She describes how, with the support of her husband Paul, she continues to lead an active life nevertheless, and explains how professionals and carers can help. This book is a thoughtful exploration of how dementia challenges our ideas of personal identity and of the process of self-discovery it can bring about.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia are the most common neurodegenerative disorder. Since the number of individuals with AD and dementia is expected to increase considerably in the near future, reliable treatment and diagnosis are critical. EEG and neurophysiological technique could be used as a cost-effective screening tool for early detection and diagnosis in the Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) stage. The aim in neurophysiology research is to develop signal processing methods that improve the specificity for diagnosing dementia; we wish to discover signal features that not only significantly differ in AD patients, but also allow us to reliably separate AD patients and control subjects. This approach is valuable for clinical purposes (as diagnostic tool for dementia), and it also more fundamentally contributes to a better understanding of brain dynamics of MCI patients. Finally, the development of neurophysiological biomarker could be useful in monitoring pharmacological treatments. The main focus of this special issue will be on the most recent developments and ideas in the field of EEG and neurophysiology which will enable us to extract features that improve the specificity for diagnosing AD and dementia.

As the largest generation in U.S. history - the population born in the two decades immediately following World War II - enters the age of risk for cognitive impairment, growing numbers of people will experience dementia (including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias). By one estimate, nearly 14 million people in the United States will be living with dementia by 2060. Like other hardships, the experience of living with dementia can bring unexpected moments of intimacy, growth, and compassion, but these diseases also affect people's capacity to work and carry out other activities and alter their relationships with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. Those who live with and care for individuals experiencing these diseases face challenges that include physical and emotional stress, difficult changes and losses in their relationships with life partners, loss of income, and interrupted connections to other activities and friends. From a societal perspective, these diseases place substantial demands on communities and on the institutions and government entities that support people living with dementia and their families, including the health care system, the providers of direct care, and others. Nevertheless, research in the social and behavioral sciences points to possibilities for preventing or slowing the development of dementia and for substantially reducing its social and economic impacts. At the request of the National Institute on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America assesses the contributions of research in the social and behavioral sciences and identifies a research agenda for the coming decade. This report offers a blueprint for the next decade of behavioral and social science research to reduce the negative impact of dementia for America's diverse population. Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America calls for research that addresses the causes and solutions for disparities in both developing dementia and receiving adequate treatment and support. It calls for research that sets goals meaningful not just for scientists but for people living with dementia and those who support them as well. By 2030, an estimated 8.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease and many more will have other forms of dementia. Through identifying priorities social and behavioral science research and recommending ways in which they can be pursued in a coordinated fashion, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America will help produce research that improves the lives of all those affected by dementia.