Mahendra B
J Med Ethics. 1984 Mar;10(1):29-31. doi: 10.1136/jme.10.1.29.
The ethical problems associated with dementia have been thrown into focus by the ageing population. The elderly form a disadvantaged group in society and the author wonders if it is morally justified to pursue research into ways of arresting pathology without concomitant attention being paid to the quality of life of the surviving elderly. Precise diagnosis of dementia requires invasive, and potentially injurious, brain biopsy. Recent thinking has pointed to some of the advantages of biopsy. The question of consent in a patient with impaired mental function has to be borne in mind. As for the special ethical problems associated with Huntington's chorea, it is argued there is no justification for withholding information from, or for authoritarian direction of, patients and 'at risk' relatives but the importance of full discussion before undertaking predictive procedures is stressed.
老龄化人口使与痴呆症相关的伦理问题成为焦点。老年人在社会中构成弱势群体，作者质疑在致力于研究阻止病理过程的方法时，却不关注尚存老年人的生活质量，在道德上是否合理。痴呆症的精确诊断需要进行侵入性的、可能有伤害的脑活检。最近的观点指出了活检的一些优点。必须考虑到精神功能受损患者的同意问题。至于与亨廷顿舞蹈症相关的特殊伦理问题，有人认为，向患者及“有患病风险”的亲属隐瞒信息或进行专制指导是没有道理的，但强调在进行预测性程序之前进行充分讨论的重要性。
