Researchers involved in a large, multi-institutional study using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with the radiotracer fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) were able to classify different types of dementia with very high rates of success, raising hopes that dementia diagnoses may one day be made at earlier stages.

People with dementia survive an average of four and a half years after diagnosis, with age, sex, and existing disability all having an influence on life expectancy, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

Tooth loss may predict the development of dementia late in life, according to research published in the October issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).

Relatives of patients with Parkinson’s disease may have an increased risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A simple personality test could help doctors detect dementia with Lewy bodies, a form of dementia often confused with Alzheimer's disease, sooner, according to a study published in the May 29, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

At least one third of cases of delirium could be prevented if better systems of care were in place according to a doctor in today's BMJ.