Synopses & Reviews
Few if any diseases are specific to old age. However, factors such as multiple pathology and impaired feedback control mechanisms lead to non-specific or 'atypical' presentation of disease, to difficulties in diagnosis, to rapid deterioration of untreated disease and to a high incidence of complications. The geriatrician must include rehabilitation in clinical care plans, and also be aware of the cultural gap that may exist between the old and the younger members of a changing society. Ethical issues may arise in the distribution of scarce societal resources between different age groups, and in considering the needs and rights of caring relatives as well as those of the disabled older patient. Based on these considerations, this new textbook is designed to supplement rather than substitute for textbooks of general medicine. As a frame of reference it is specifically designed as a companion volume to the Oxford Textbook of Medicine. It draws on an international authorship with an emphasis on combining the fruits of experience in clinical geriatrics with a scientific base in research. The various chapters therefore offer both scholarly reviews of fields of knowledge in medical gerontology and firmly practical advice on clinical problems. Field reviews include biological origins and mechanisms of aging, age-associated changes in immunology and other host defences, injury responses, temperature homeostasis, memory, and the aging eye. Practical issues include the management of foot problems, back pain, and infections in older patients. Further chapters deal with ethical issues, the difficulties of carers, and the design of services. The book includes traditional concerns of geriatric medicine such as hypothermia and postural hypotension but also takes a wider perspective on aging with chapters on topics including the post-menopausal state and aging in the Third World. References have been kept to a moderate number aimed at providing a rational and selective entree to the literature rather thatn a comprehensive bibliography.
Synopsis
This comprehensive text brings together extensive experience in clinical geriatrics with a strong scientific base in research. The chapters offer both scholarly reviews of fields of knowledge in medical gerontology and firmly practical advice on clinical problems. Major reviews include the biological origins and mechanisms of aging, age-associated changes in immunology and other host defences, injury responses, temperature homeostasis, memory, and the aging eye. Practical issues include the management of foot problems, back pain, and infections in older patients. Further chapters deal with ethical issues, the difficulties of carers, and the design of services.
This volume covers traditional concerns of geriatric medicine such as hypothermia and postural hypotension, but also takes a wider perspective on aging with chapters on topics such as the post-menopausal state. It will be an invaluable reference for any physician whose work includes clinical responsibilities for older patients.
Table of Contents
SECTION 1: The Aging of Populations and Communities
SECTION 2: Biological Aspects of Aging
SECTION 3: Infections
SECTION 4: Injuries in Later Life
SECTION 5: Clinical Pharmacology of Aging
SECTION 6: Nutrition and Aging
SECTION 7: Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders
SECTION 8: Gastroenterology
SECTION 9: Cardiovascular Disorders
SECTION 10: Cancer in Older People: An Overview
SECTION 11: Stroke
SECTION 12: The Aging Respiratory System
SECTION 13: Joints and Connective Tissue
SECTION 14: Disorders of the Skeleton
SECTION 15: Nephrology and the Genitourinary System
SECTION 16: Disorders of the Blood
SECTION 17: Skin Disease in Older Persons
SECTION 18: Neurology and Psychology: Age-associated Changes
SECTION 19: Voluntary Muscle
SECTION 20: Psychiatric Aspects of the Medicine of Later Life
SECTION 21: Anesthesiology and Medical Aspects of Surgery
SECTION 22: Symptom Management and Palliative Care
SECTION 23: Services to Older Persons
SECTION 24: Preventing Disease and Promoting Health in Old Age
SECTION 25: Ethical Issues in the Medicine of Later Life
SECTION 26: Reference Values for Biological Data in Older Persons