Tailoring mental illness drug treatments specifically for elderly people has been a neglected area. This book brings together findings from recent multi-disciplinary research and the practical aspects of old age psychiatry. By taking into account the perspectives of the patient and their family the neuropathologist the pharmacist the nurse the GP and the specialist Practical Old Age Psychopharmacology provides a sympathetic analysis of contemporary practice and offers guidelines for the future. Providing the only comprehensive overview of the topic the editors delve into the important role of psychotropic drugs and the management of mental illness in the elderly how these drugs should be used and how a truly personal approach to patient care can be maintained. To provide a practical focus on specific clinical topics individual chapters can be used independently This book is an invaluable reference for old age psychiatrists psychiatrists in training hospital and community mental health nurses geriatricians general practitioners and pharmaceutical company staff. Clinical psychologists social workers occupational therapists and health care managers will also find it beneficial as a complement to their own work.
Psychopharmacological history through the looking glass of advancing years. Neuropathology. Neurochemical changes in old age. Assessing older people before treatment with psychotropic drugs. Old age psychopharmacology; the pharmacist perspective. The role of the nurse in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of older people with psychotropic drugs. The GP and 'Medicines Management' for older people with mental health problems in primary care. Management of geriatric mood disorders. The treatment of psychosis in the elderly. Treatment of anxiety disorders. Sleep disturbance and its management in older patients. Drug treatment in dementia. Pharmacogenetics and the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The role of drug therapy in the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia. Treatment of delirium.
