[Historical aspects of the study of dementia]. / Istoricheskie aspekty izucheniya dementsii.

Currently, life expectancy is increasing every year, and with it the diseases that are characteristic of the elderly. Dementia is one such condition. According to statistics, there are 9 people with dementia per 100 healthy people aged 60 and over. However, it is important to understand that dementia can also be viewed in a historical context. Over time, ideas about this condition, approaches to its management, as well as the attitude of society towards patients with dementia have changed. The article describes the history of the study of dementia, which went along with the development of medicine, anatomy, neurology and psychiatry. In different historical periods, people's understanding of the mechanisms of development, etiology and pathogenesis of this condition has changed. Ethics and deontology gradually developed, which undoubtedly played an important role in improving the life of not only patients with dementia, but also the relationship between the doctor and the patient as a whole. The main stages in the study of dementia have become the basis for the modern understanding of this condition.

[Autonomic disorders in dementia with Lewy bodies].

Fifty patients diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) according to criteria of I. MacKleith et al (2000), mean age 71.1 +/- 6.1 years, have been studied. Severity of dimentia was evaluated using a battery of neuropsychological scales and tests. A state of autonomic nervous system function was determined during clinical examination, the results of which were used as a basis for the Scale of autonomic disorders severity, and by instrumental methods. Most of patients with DLB had autonomic disorders, such as orthostatic hypotension, heat intolerability, dryness of cutaneous epithelium and mouth mucous membranes, urination disorders. The study of reactivity of autonomic nervous system revealed a predominance of parasympathetic reactions. The authors believe that autonomic disorders are typical for DLB and are the result of affection of the peripheral nerves, stem and spinal autonomic structures.