Summary
Differentials
Common
- Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
- Delirium
- Depression
- Alzheimer's dementia
- Vascular dementia
- Lewy body dementia
Uncommon
- Amnestic syndromes
- Aphasia
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Parkinson's disease
- Huntington's disease
- Brain tumours
- Cushing's syndrome
- Hypopituitarism
- Primary hyperparathyroidism
- Acute intermittent porphyria
- Primary hypothyroidism
- Hyperthyroidism
- Wilson's disease
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
- Traumatic brain injury
- Lyme disease
- Tuberculosis
- Neurosyphilis
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Sjogren's syndrome
- Sarcoidosis
- Drug use
- Toxin-induced
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Contributors
Authors
Aarti Gupta, MBBS
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry (adjunct)
Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven
CT
Staff Psychiatrist
Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack
NJ
Disclosures
AG declares that she has no competing interests.
Acknowledgements
Dr Aarti Gupta would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr Rajesh Tampi, Dr Sarper Taskiran, Dr Javier Lopez, and Dr Sunanda Muralee, the previous contributors to this topic. RT, ST, JL, and SM declare that they have no competing interests.
Peer reviewers
Kirsten Wilkins, MD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Yale School of Medicine
New Haven
CT
Disclosures
KW declares that she has no competing interests.
Daniel Kaufer, MD
Director
Memory Disorders Program
Department of Neurology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
NC
Disclosures
DK has received research support, speaking honoraria, and consulting fees from Eisai, Forest Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, Medivation, Novartis, Ortho-McNeil, and Pfizer.
Lawrence Whalley, MD, FRCP(E), FRCPsych
Professor Emeritus of Mental Health
University of Aberdeen Institute of Applied Health Sciences
Aberdeen
UK
Disclosures
LW declares that he has no competing interests.
Randolph Schiffer, MD
Director
Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
Las Vegas
NV
Disclosures
RS declares that he has no competing interests.
Peer reviewer acknowledgements
BMJ Best Practice topics are updated on a rolling basis in line with developments in evidence and guidance. The peer reviewers listed here have reviewed the content at least once during the history of the topic.
Disclosures
Peer reviewer affiliations and disclosures pertain to the time of the review.
References
Key articles
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed., text revision (DSM-5-TR). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2022.
Galvin JE, Sadowsky CH. Practical guidelines for the recognition and diagnosis of dementia. J Am Board Fam Med. 2012 May-Jun;25(3):367-82.Full text Abstract
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Dementia: assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers. Jun 2018 [internet publication].Full text
American College of Radiology. ACR appropriateness criteria: dementia. 2024 [internet publication].Full text
Reference articles
A full list of sources referenced in this topic is available to users with access to all of BMJ Best Practice.
Guidelines
- SIGN 168: Assessment, diagnosis, care and support for people with dementia and their carers
- Recommendations to distinguish behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia from psychiatric disorders
More GuidelinesPatient information
Alzheimer' s disease and other kinds of dementia
Caring for someone with dementia
More Patient information
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