Support networks of older people: a guide for practitioners. G. Clare Wenger. centre for social...
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, VOL. 9: 1010 (1994) BOOK REVIEWS Psychopharmacotherapy for the Elderly-Research and Clinical Implications M. BERGENER, R. H. BELMAKER and M. S. TROPPER (Editors). Springer Publishing Co, New York 1993. No. of pages: 480. Price $65.95 ($70.80 out- side U.S.A.) An effort is made throughout this book to fill the gap between the potentials in geriatric psychopharmacologic research and some practical limitations in the methodo- logy of study design. Guidelines for clinical applications are offered using results from current research. The book is organized in sections with chapters by different authors. Each section is diversified to include chapters on selected reviews and findings from research. The topics contained in sections include clinical assess- ment (methodology), recommendations for drug trials, experimental and animal studies, current research, clini- cal treatment with ‘anti-dementia’ and anti-depressant drugs, treatment of anxiety and sleep disorders and aspects of nursing home care. While the book is informa- tive and easily readable the print and content of some of the tables can be difficult to follow. The first two sections comprise nine chapters that are devoted to an overview of psychometric assessment and development of rating instruments, controversy in differ- entiating mild cognitive impairment from dementia (chapter 3), basic tenets on the use of psychometric tests and behavioral ratings (chapter 6) and ethical and clinical problems encountered in the design of controlled drug trials (chapter 7). An impressive degree of success is reported in differentiating benign memory impairment of senescence from pathological aging using a self-evalu- ation list (chapter 1). Support Networks of Older People: A Guide for Practi- tioners. G. CLARE WENGER. Centre For Social Policy Research And Development, Bangor, 1994. No. of pages: 106, Price: E6. Efforts to translate academic studies into a form relevant and useful for practitioners are always to be welcomed. Clare Wenger is best known for her longitudinal studies of older people and their support networks in Liverpool and Wales. Now, based upon her work with six com- munity care teams, she has sought to translate her analy- sis of network typologies into a form which social workers, and other assessors can incorporate into daily practice. It is written in anon technical way with frequent 0 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The chapters in the section on current research offer data on the usefulness of serum alpha-]-antichymotrip- sin as an ante-mortem indicator of Alzheimer’s disease based on a prospective study on a large sample; the use of inositol in modulating the second messenger systems for treatment of depression, and; a thoughtful review of studies on glutamate neurotransmission in dementia. In the section on clinical treatment with ‘anti- dementia’ and antidepressant drugs, comprehensive reviews address the rationale and probable mode of action of the various classes of drugs used to enhance memory in dementia, and use of selective serotonergic re-uptake inhibitors in the treatment of depression. Attention is drawn to both the cardiovascular safety of the selective serotonergic inhibitor agents and the dearth of information on relative advantages and disadvantages of this class of antidepressants compared to conventional tricyclic agents used in treating geriatric depression. The potential advantages of moclobemide based on its side- effect profile is substantiated by a study of geriatric depressives (Chapter 21). The last two sections provide informative reading on clinical issues that have received renewed attention, including the management of sleep disorders, diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders, and reviews on the behavioral analysis and management of agitation in demented nursing home patients. This book is not recommended as an introductory text in geriatric psychopharmacology. The information con- tained is more applicable for enhancement of research and clinical expertise. BALU KALAYAM New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center White Plains, New York. summaries and bullet points highlighting the significance for practice of each section. Of particular interest is her examination of the influences upon outcomes; she argues that some network types are better at enabling those in poor health to remain in the community for longer. In an attempt to be accessible, these types of publica- tion can carry the risk of reducing the original research to a series of bland truisms. Support Networks of Older People represents a commendable bid to avoid this trap. For those whose interest is more pragmatic than aca- demic, or for those as yet unfamiliar with Wenger’s work, this book is a very useful introduction. Jo MORIARTY National Insritute for Social Work, London
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Transcript of Support networks of older people: a guide for practitioners. G. Clare Wenger. centre for social...
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, VOL. 9: 1010 (1994)
BOOK REVIEWS
Psychopharmacotherapy for the Elderly-Research and Clinical Implications M. BERGENER, R. H. BELMAKER and M. S. TROPPER (Editors). Springer Publishing Co, New York 1993. No. of pages: 480. Price $65.95 ($70.80 out- side U.S.A.)
An effort is made throughout this book to fill the gap between the potentials in geriatric psychopharmacologic research and some practical limitations in the methodo- logy of study design. Guidelines for clinical applications are offered using results from current research.
The book is organized in sections with chapters by different authors. Each section is diversified to include chapters on selected reviews and findings from research. The topics contained in sections include clinical assess- ment (methodology), recommendations for drug trials, experimental and animal studies, current research, clini- cal treatment with ‘anti-dementia’ and anti-depressant drugs, treatment of anxiety and sleep disorders and aspects of nursing home care. While the book is informa- tive and easily readable the print and content of some of the tables can be difficult to follow.
The first two sections comprise nine chapters that are devoted to an overview of psychometric assessment and development of rating instruments, controversy in differ- entiating mild cognitive impairment from dementia (chapter 3), basic tenets on the use of psychometric tests and behavioral ratings (chapter 6) and ethical and clinical problems encountered in the design of controlled drug trials (chapter 7). An impressive degree of success is reported in differentiating benign memory impairment of senescence from pathological aging using a self-evalu- ation list (chapter 1).
Support Networks of Older People: A Guide for Practi- tioners. G . CLARE WENGER. Centre For Social Policy Research And Development, Bangor, 1994. No. of pages: 106, Price: E6.
Efforts to translate academic studies into a form relevant and useful for practitioners are always to be welcomed. Clare Wenger is best known for her longitudinal studies of older people and their support networks in Liverpool and Wales. Now, based upon her work with six com- munity care teams, she has sought to translate her analy- sis of network typologies into a form which social workers, and other assessors can incorporate into daily practice. It is written in anon technical way with frequent
0 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The chapters in the section on current research offer data on the usefulness of serum alpha-] -antichymotrip- sin as an ante-mortem indicator of Alzheimer’s disease based on a prospective study on a large sample; the use of inositol in modulating the second messenger systems for treatment of depression, and; a thoughtful review of studies on glutamate neurotransmission in dementia.
In the section on clinical treatment with ‘anti- dementia’ and antidepressant drugs, comprehensive reviews address the rationale and probable mode of action of the various classes of drugs used to enhance memory in dementia, and use of selective serotonergic re-uptake inhibitors in the treatment of depression. Attention is drawn to both the cardiovascular safety of the selective serotonergic inhibitor agents and the dearth of information on relative advantages and disadvantages of this class of antidepressants compared to conventional tricyclic agents used in treating geriatric depression. The potential advantages of moclobemide based on its side- effect profile is substantiated by a study of geriatric depressives (Chapter 21).
The last two sections provide informative reading on clinical issues that have received renewed attention, including the management of sleep disorders, diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders, and reviews on the behavioral analysis and management of agitation in demented nursing home patients.
This book is not recommended as an introductory text in geriatric psychopharmacology. The information con- tained is more applicable for enhancement of research and clinical expertise.
BALU KALAYAM New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center
White Plains, New York.
summaries and bullet points highlighting the significance for practice of each section. Of particular interest is her examination of the influences upon outcomes; she argues that some network types are better at enabling those in poor health to remain in the community for longer.
In an attempt to be accessible, these types of publica- tion can carry the risk of reducing the original research to a series of bland truisms. Support Networks of Older People represents a commendable bid to avoid this trap. For those whose interest is more pragmatic than aca- demic, or for those as yet unfamiliar with Wenger’s work, this book is a very useful introduction.
Jo MORIARTY National Insritute for Social Work, London
