Laurence Lacoste
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Neurol Neurophysiol
Lots of consultations exist at the moment to evaluate cognitive capacities of the elderly. When elderly people begin to have
memory problems, they often want to know if something is possible to help them and to have the opinion of specialists.
Sometimes, its a member of the family, a general practitioner or a doctor of a hospital who do this request when they think
that an elderly people begin to have troubles of memory or behaviour. Also, when an elderly person is in an institution,
neuropsychological evaluations are often asked. In geriatrics institutions, where there are people with Alzheimer disease or related
disorders, neuropsychological evaluations are most often also present. In some epidemiological studies, neuropsychological
evaluations are done from several years to try to find factors of risks and protection from pathological ageing. In this talk, we
describe the interests of a neuropsychological evaluation, how we can do it with an amnesis and neuropsychological tests in
the way to take care of the patients and to answer to initial request. We also try to give the limits of this evaluation according
to the question which is to treat and according to the way of the return which is done. It depends on each case, and it is not the
same for the patient, the family, the general practitioner, the other doctors in hospital, the members of an institution where the
patient is for the end of his life or the public health. Finally, we try to give a general view of criticism and interest of premature
cognitive evaluation of the elderly.
