Tangled Minds - Muriel R. Gillick

Alzheimer's has struck more than 4 million of the nation's elderly and is the most common form of mental degeneration. In Tangled Minds, Dr. Muriel R. Gillick convincingly demonstrates that confusion and loss of memory resulting from Alzheimer's, or in any form, is a disease known as dementia, and not an inevitable part of aging.

Tangled Minds provides a comprehensive overview of dementia, its history, the politics of its fight for recognition, the research being done to discover its causes, and the treatments now being used to alleviate its symptoms. Weaving these details around the story of one Alzheimer's patient, Gillick provides both a human interest story and an analytical study. Clearly describing medical details while fully capturing the pain of dementia with compassionate insight, Tangled Minds is an invaluable resource for family, friends, caregivers, and professionals dealing with Alzheimer's and similar disorders.

Muriel Gillick is a physician specializing in the care of elderly patients and adults of all ages who are facing serious, life-threatening illness. She is a staff physician at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and a Professor of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School/Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. She provides consultation to patients at the Brigham and Women Hospital, a major Harvard teaching hospital. Before coming to Harvard Vanguard and the Brigham, Dr. Gillick was Physician-in-Chief at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged, a premier long-term care facility in the Boston area. She also served as Director of the Harvard Geriatrics Fellowship Program, which trains young physicians to specialize in geriatric medicine. The major focus of Dr. Gillick's work is caring for patients near the end of their lives. She is particularly interested in helping patients and their families figure out what approach to medical care makes most sense for them, given their underlying health status, their values, and their goals.

"Compassionate. In the absence of a cure for Alzheimer's, Gillick commendably suggests that people afflicted with the disorder, along with other dementing illnesses, deserve our compassionate acceptance."-Washington Post

"A compelling narrative with factual information. Although this book will be of special interest to those affected by dementia, it is designed to inform all members of society."-Library Journal

"An instructive, consciousness-raising look at Alzheimer's that not only makes painfully clear what it does to an individual and a family, but also clarifies how politics and cultural attitudes are intertwined with Alzheimer's research. frank and discerning."-Kirkus Reviews