Resumen

PEREZ MARTINEZ, Víctor T.. Dementias: their diagnostic approach. Rev Cubana Med Gen Integr [online]. 2006, vol.22, n.4. ISSN 0864-2125.

The reduction of the cognitive capacity is essential for the diagnosis of dementia. The diagnostic sequence includes the cllinical evaluation (neurological and psychopathological), the neuropsychological assessment and the family evaluation. The health team should be trained to deal with dementia from its early diagnosis to the action plan individualized for each patient and health care provider. The highest influence on the early diagnosis will depend on the training and updating of the Primary Health Care team. The real involvement of Primary Care in the detection and effective treatment of the cognitive problems in general is scarce, but it is undeniable that the growing needs of the aging population grant a role of avanguard to this health care level. In our context, the exploration of the mental state is not a systematic practice, and there is a degree of subregister for this diagnosis that should not be discarded.

Palabras clave : Dementia; syndromic diagnosis; differential diagnosis; etiological diagnosis; primary health care.