Senility

Historian Jesse F. Ballenger traces the emergence of senility as a cultural category from the late nineteenth century to the 1980s, a period in which Alzheimer's disease became increasingly associated with the terrifying prospect of losing one's self. Changes in American society and culture have complicated the notion of selfhood, Ballenger finds. No longer an ascribed status, selfhood must be carefully and willfully constructed. Thus, losing one's ability to sustain a coherent self-narrative is considered one of life's most dreadful losses. As Ballenger writes "senility haunts the landscape of the self-made man." Stereotypes of senility and Alzheimer's disease are related to anxiety about the coherence, stability, and agency of the self—stereotypes that are transforming perceptions of old age in modern America. Drawing on scientific, clinical, policy, and popular discourses on aging and dementia, Ballenger explores early twentieth-century concepts of aging and the emergence of gerontology to understand and distinguish normal aging from disease. In addition, he examines American psychiatry's approaches to the treatment of senility and scientific attempts to understand the brain pathology of dementia. Ballenger's work contributes to our understanding of the emergence and significance of dementia as a major health issue.

Ballenger's work contributes to our understanding of the emergence and significance of dementia as a major health issue.

Cultural responses to most illnesses differ; dementia is no exception. These responses, together with a society's attitudes toward its elderly population, affect the frequency of dementia-related diagnoses and the nature of treatment. Bringing together essays by nineteen respected scholars, this unique volume approaches the subject from a variety of angles, exploring the historical, psychological, and philosophical implications of dementia. Based on solid ethnographic fieldwork, the essays employ a cross-cultural perspective and focus on questions of age, mind, voice, self, loss, temporality, memory, and affect. Taken together, the essays make four important and interrelated contributions to our understanding of the mental status of the elderly. First, cross-cultural data show the extent to which the aging process, while biologically influenced, is also very much culturally constructed. Second, detailed ethnographic reports raise questions about the behavioral criteria used by health care professionals and laymen for defining the elderly as demented. Third, case studies show how a diagnosis affects a patient's treatment in both clinical and familial settings.; Finally, the collection highlights the gap that separates current biological understandings of aging from its cultural meanings. As Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia continue to command an ever-increasing amount of attention in medicine and psychology, this book will be essential reading for anthropologists, social scientists, and health care professionals.

Theorizes that senility is often socially induced, resulting from a lack of prestige, economic independence, and physical well-being, and looks at alternatives to institutionalization.

Presenting data not previously brought together in a single volume, this book gives the latest scientific information on the many different factors implicated in premature ageing. After surveying the basic biological, neurobehavioural, and physical aspects of ageing, the book considers risk factors for senile dementia and other neurological disorders, with a chapter devoted to mental stimulation and deprivation. It then reviews what is known about the role of nutrition, physical activity, metabolic and endocrine function, drug use, and life-style in the ageing process. By delineating associations among these areas, the authors provide further insight into their influence. Where data are available, they focus on practical strategies for risk assessment, risk-factor reduction, and disease prevention. The approach is interdisciplinary, with contributors representing gerontology, biology, neurology, physiology, epidemiology, psychiatry, medical sociology, and many other areas. This timely volume will be of value to an equally wide audience.

This manual gives step-by-step guidance on the evaluation and treatment of geriatric diseases and disorders. It covers incidence of disorders, diagnostic tests, associated diagnoses, clinical implications for mobility, and rehabilitation techniques. It offers a broad overview of the effects of aging on all body systems. Special geriatric considerations for laboratory assessment, thermoregulations, and pharmacology are also discussed. This manual is a resource for all training clinicians in geriatric care and is a quick-reference guide for students and practitioners in this field.