Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Archive
    • Supplemental Issues
    • Collections - French
    • Collections - English
  • Info for
    • Authors & Reviewers
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Advertisers
    • Careers & Locums
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
  • About CFP
    • About CFP
    • About the CFPC
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Feedback
    • Feedback
    • Rapid Responses
    • Most Read
    • Most Cited
    • Email Alerts
  • Blogs
    • Latest Blogs
    • Blog Guidelines
    • Directives pour les blogues
  • Mainpro+ Credits
    • About Mainpro+
    • Member Login
    • Instructions
  • Other Publications
    • http://www.cfpc.ca/Canadianfamilyphysician/
    • https://www.cfpc.ca/Login/
    • Careers and Locums

User menu

  • My alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
The College of Family Physicians of Canada
  • Other Publications
    • http://www.cfpc.ca/Canadianfamilyphysician/
    • https://www.cfpc.ca/Login/
    • Careers and Locums
  • My alerts
The College of Family Physicians of Canada

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Archive
    • Supplemental Issues
    • Collections - French
    • Collections - English
  • Info for
    • Authors & Reviewers
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Advertisers
    • Careers & Locums
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
  • About CFP
    • About CFP
    • About the CFPC
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Feedback
    • Feedback
    • Rapid Responses
    • Most Read
    • Most Cited
    • Email Alerts
  • Blogs
    • Latest Blogs
    • Blog Guidelines
    • Directives pour les blogues
  • Mainpro+ Credits
    • About Mainpro+
    • Member Login
    • Instructions
  • RSS feeds
  • Follow cfp Template on Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
Book ReviewFP Watch

Defying dementia

David B. Hogan
Canadian Family Physician February 2008, 54 (2) 253-254;
David B. Hogan
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • eLetters
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading
AUTHOR Robert Levine, PUBLISHER Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Rd W, Westport, CT 06881, USA; TELEPHONE 203 226-3571; WEBSITE www.praeger.com, PUBLISHED 2006/232 pp/$34.95 (US)
Figure

OVERALL RATING Poor

STRENGTHS Interesting and important topic

WEAKNESSES Unsupported statements; inappropriate language for intended audience

AUDIENCE Intelligent lay-people

Defying Dementia is a disappointing offering that doesn’t adequately serve the needs of its intended audience of “intelligent lay people” who want to learn about dementia and its prevention. While recent research indicates we might be able to delay the onset of dementia by treating vascular risk factors and following a healthy lifestyle, the author goes beyond the available data to make unwarranted statements. Levine does not deal well with the potential of harm arising from some of his suggestions. I can’t recommend this book to either the general public or family physicians.

The first part of Defying Dementia deals with dementia, its confounders, and causes. It is too long, taking up approximately two-thirds of the book. The terminology used is more appropriate for a medical audience. How many well-educated lay readers would even understand terms like “amyloid beta derived diffusible ligands” and abbreviations such as APOE-4, PSEN1, or PSEN2? Family physicians who want an introduction to the various forms of dementia would be better served by a recent review article such as “The primary care of Alzheimer disease” by C.D. Rubin.1

The lifestyle recommendations, though difficult to argue against, have not been proven as ways to prevent dementia. We already have convincing reasons for patients to be more active and to follow a healthier diet. I have greater concerns about other suggestions; for example, Levine states that daily acetylsalicylic acid is “one of the major weapons in our arsenal in the battle against … dementia.” Yet the observational data for this is inconclusive.2 In fact, a controlled trial examining whether ASA prevented cognitive decline was negative.3 And no mention is made of the increased risk for both hemorrhagic strokes and gastrointestinal bleeding with ASA.4 When advising individuals on disease prevention, we must be confident that we’ll see the greatest good for the greatest number. We aren’t there yet for the prevention of dementia.

  • Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada

References

  1. ↵
    1. Rubin CD
    . The primary care of Alzheimer disease. Am J Med Sci 2006;332:314-33.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  2. ↵
    1. Kleinerman KA,
    2. Linet MS,
    3. Hatch EE,
    4. Tarone RE,
    5. Black PM,
    6. et al
    . Self-reported electrical appliance use and risk of adult brain tumours. Am J Epidemiol 2005;161(2):136-46.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  3. ↵
    1. Kang JH,
    2. Cook N,
    3. Manson J,
    4. Buring JE,
    5. Grodstein F
    . Low dose aspirin and cognitive function in the women’s health study cognitive cohort. BMJ 2007;334(7601):987.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  4. ↵
    1. Hayden M,
    2. Pignone M,
    3. Phillips C,
    4. Mulrow C
    . Aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events: a summary of evidence for the U.S. Preventive Task Force. Ann Intern Med 2002;136(2):161-72.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Canadian Family Physician: 54 (2)
Canadian Family Physician
Vol. 54, Issue 2
1 Feb 2008
  • Table of Contents
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on The College of Family Physicians of Canada.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Defying dementia
(Your Name) has sent you a message from The College of Family Physicians of Canada
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the The College of Family Physicians of Canada web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Defying dementia
David B. Hogan
Canadian Family Physician Feb 2008, 54 (2) 253-254;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Share
Defying dementia
David B. Hogan
Canadian Family Physician Feb 2008, 54 (2) 253-254;
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

FP Watch

  • Use of nonvitamin dietary supplements with prescription medications
  • Elliptical excision
  • Hospitalist care
Show more FP Watch

Book Reviews

  • Inside chronic pain
  • Canadian Pharmacists Association guide to drugs in Canada
  • The fifteen minute hour
Show more Book Reviews

Similar Articles

Navigate

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archive
  • Collections - English
  • Collections - Française

For Authors

  • Authors and Reviewers
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Permissions
  • Terms of Use

General Information

  • About CFP
  • About the CFPC
  • Advertisers
  • Careers & Locums
  • Editorial Advisory Board
  • Subscribers

Journal Services

  • Email Alerts
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • RSS Feeds

Copyright © 2023 by The College of Family Physicians of Canada

Powered by HighWire