Leading ethicists and clinicians from the United States and Europe explore ethical and scientific concerns about the diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer disease and the challenges arising from applying palliative procedures to its symptoms.

"A short book review cannot do justice to the magnitude and worth of this book . . . It is a compendium of hope."--Ageing and Society

"Books like this, which take a global view of the effects of disease, are much needed. All of us working in palliative care would benefit from reading this book as it exposes assumptions derived from the treatment mostly of cancer patients and encourages us to review our thoughts on the intrinsic value of all life, however opaque."--Palliative Medicine

"The editors ought to be congratulated for creating a space that allows us to retell our individual and social stories of dying with dementia."--New England Journal of Medicine

"Offers valuable insights into the philosophy and practice of palliative care in AD from perspectives of a group of American and European experts . . . It raises important questions and poses solutions to a variety of pressing clinical issues."--American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias

Ruth B. Purtilo, Ph.D., is James Marsh Presidential Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont and professor emerita of the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Henk A.M.J. ten Have, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of medical ethics at the University Medical Centre Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and director of the Division of Ethics of Science and Technology, UNESCO, Paris.

Leading ethicists and clinicians from the United States and Europe explore ethical and scientific concerns about the diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer disease and the challenges arising from applying palliative procedures to its symptoms.

A short book review cannot do justice to the magnitude and worth of this book . . . It is a compendium of hope.--Ageing and Society

Books like this, which take a global view of the effects of disease, are much needed. All of us working in palliative care would benefit from reading this book as it exposes assumptions derived from the treatment mostly of cancer patients and encourages us to review our thoughts on the intrinsic value of all life, however opaque.--Palliative Medicine

The editors ought to be congratulated for creating a space that allows us to retell our individual and social stories of dying with dementia.--New England Journal of Medicine

Offers valuable insights into the philosophy and practice of palliative care in AD from perspectives of a group of American and European experts . . . It raises important questions and poses solutions to a variety of pressing clinical issues.--American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias

Ruth B. Purtilo, Ph.D., is James Marsh Presidential Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont and professor emerita of the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Henk A.M.J. ten Have, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of medical ethics at the University Medical Centre Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and director of the Division of Ethics of Science and Technology, UNESCO, Paris.

Alzheimer disease afflicts more than twelve million people worldwide, and its incidence is increasing at a staggering rate. People with the disorder are living longer than have those in previous generations, and they require interventions for quality-of-life issues associated with palliative care. However, the symptoms of Alzheimer disease often fail to place such persons into settings where palliative care resources are available to them. Indeed, clinicians and other caregivers may be unsure about what constitutes effective palliation in these cases. At the same time, the ethical issues involved in providing end-of-life care to persons with Alzheimer disease remain on the margins of mainstream bioethics.

In Ethical Foundations of Palliative Care for Alzheimer Disease, leading ethicists and clinicians from the United States and Europe explore ethical and scientific concerns about the diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer disease, challenges arising from applying palliative procedures to its symptoms, key philosophical and theological concepts central to our understanding of the disease and to end-of-life decisions, and the changing patterns of relevant medical, social, and economic policies. Cross-cultural, multidisciplinary, and state-of-the-art, this volume is a unique and important resource for bioethicists, clinicians, and policy makers everywhere.

Contributors: David A. Bennahum, M.D., University of New Mexico; Pierre Boitte, Ph.D., Catholic University of Lille, France; Roger A. Brumback, M.D., Creighton University Medical Center; Wim J. M. Dekkers, M.D., Ph.D., University Medical Centre Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Elizabeth Furlong, R.N., Ph.D., J.D., Creighton University Medical Center; Eugenijus Gefenas, M.D., Ph.D., Vilnius University, Lithuania; Bert Gordijn, Ph.D., University Medical Centre Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Amy M. Haddad, R.N., Ph.D., Creighton University Medical Center; S ren Holm, M.D., Ph.D., Dr.Med.Sci., University of Manchester; Franz J. Illhardt, D.D., Ph.D., Freiburg University; Rien Janssens, Ph.D., University Medical Centre Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Givi Javashvili, M.D., Ph.D., State Medical Academy of Georgia, Tbilisi; Judith Lee Kissell, Ph.D., Creighton University Medical Center; Gunilla Nordenram, D.D.S., Ph.D., Karolinska Institute, Stockholm; Richard L. O'Brien, M.D., Creighton University Medical Center; Marcel G. M. Olde Rikkert, M.D., Ph.D., University Medical Centre Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Winifred J. Ellenchild Pinch, R.N., Ed.D., Creighton University Medical Center; Patricio F. Reyes, M.D., Creighton University Medical Center; Anne-Sophie Rigaud, M.D., Ph.D., Hôpital Broca, Paris; Linda S. Scheirton, Ph.D., Creighton University Medical Center; Jos V. M. Welie, M.Med.S., J.D., Ph.D., Creighton University Medical Center.