The Present State of an Outpatient Memory Disorders Clinic

The early and differential diagnosis of senile dementia is still a problem. To encourage the early referral and identification of patients with treatable conditions, an outpatient memory disorders clinic is held at our university hospital. The most frequent cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, followed by vascular dementia. Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia account for 90% of causes of dementia. In 1999 donepezil hydrochloride, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, was approved for inhibiting disease progression in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Since then a role of an outpatient memory disorders clinic has been more important. This paper gives an outline of the clinical findings about Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia and describes how we diagnose various types of dementia.