Wells C E
Am J Psychiatry. 1978 Jan;135(1):1-12. doi: 10.1176/ajp.135.1.1.
The author discusses the current state of clinical and pathological knowledge regarding chronic brain disease, focusing particularly on the dementias. His review of clinical studies deals with diagnostic issues and methods, etiology, and treatment. More basic research on brain alterations with aging, their relation to clinical manifestations of dementia, and studies of specific disorders are also reviewed. These disorders have been receiving increasing attention from psychiatrists, who are becoming more aware of the importance of organic cerebral factors in their patients' complaints. The need to understand the chronic brain diseases and their appropriate diagnosis and treatment will continue to grow as the proportion of older individuals in our society increases.
作者讨论了关于慢性脑疾病的临床和病理知识的现状，尤其关注痴呆症。他对临床研究的综述涉及诊断问题与方法、病因以及治疗。还综述了关于大脑随年龄变化的更多基础研究、其与痴呆症临床表现的关系以及特定疾病的研究。这些疾病越来越受到精神科医生的关注，他们越来越意识到器质性脑因素在患者诉求中的重要性。随着我们社会中老年人比例的增加，了解慢性脑疾病及其恰当诊断和治疗的需求将持续增长。
