Interview with Dr. Andrew Budson
Why did you feel that it was important to write Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia, 3rd Edition? What does your publication add to the field?
Memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia are one of the most common problems encountered by neurologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, and primary care providers. These clinicians need a straightforward, practical guide to help them accurately diagnose and treat patients.
What is the most exciting aspect of Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia, 3rd Edition? What chapter or topic in the new edition are you most excited about?
The new edition covers four new disorders including posterior cortical atrophy, brain sagging syndrome, and two new Alzheimer’s look-alikes; the new amyloid-tau-neurodegeneration AT(N) framework; new images; new videos; and new diagnostic criteria for half a dozen disorders. It also covers new data for lifestyle factors like diet and exercise.
Who will find the greatest value from this book and why?
This book is valuable for almost all clinicians including students, residents, primary care providers, psychiatrists, neurologists, geriatricians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and more. Even memory disorder experts will appreciate all of the new clinical criteria compiled together in a single text.
What new ideas, practices, or procedures do you hope your readers take away from the new edition?
We introduce a three-step process for diagnosis. First, based on function, does the patient have subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia? Second, what is the clinical syndrome? Is it progressive amnestic dysfunction (like Alzheimer’s), primary progressive aphasia, or frontotemporal dementia? Third, what is the underlying pathology? Is it Alzheimer’s plaques and tangles, TDP-43, or tau?
What problem do you hope the future generation of your specialty will be able to solve?
We are all hoping that a true, disease modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias will be discovered soon.
About the Author
I‘m Andrew Budson, the Chief of Cognitive Behavioral Neurology at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and one of the two Associate Directors of the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. I double-majored in chemistry and philosophy at Haverford College, graduated from Harvard Medical School, interned in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, did my residency at the Harvard-Longwood Neurology Residency program, and my fellowship in cognitive behavioral neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
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