Subcortical vascular dementia: A review on care and management

Summary gh vascular dementia and in particular its subcortical subtype, is second only to Alzheimerʹs disease as a basis for dementia, little or no information is available on its care and management. Consequently, this paper attempts to highlight a number of difficulties and pitfalls that informal and formal caregivers have to face, when implementing care and management of elderly individuals with subcortical vascular dementia, who by definition are already “medical patients” before the onset of dementing illness. Different aspects of need for care, the phenomenology of caregiving and care programs are discussed in light of the distinct clinical history, clinical manifestations and treatment between vascular dementia and Alzheimerʹs disease.