Alzheimer’s disease: the new promise.

Clinical vignette: A 59-year-old aeronautical engineer is referred to you for evaluation because of increasing difficulty with job performance over the last several years. Difficulty managing home finances, getting lost driving, and forgetting appointments have become common. Previously outgoing, he is now depressed and irritable. After appropriate neurologic assessment, including brain imaging and metabolic studies, you make the diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia and are asked by the patient's family what treatment is available.