San Y. Wang

Department of Medicine, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged and Gerontology Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Correspondence: Department of Medicine, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged, 1200 Centre Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02131, USA. Telephone: 617-363-8308. E-mail: wang@mail.hrca.harvard.edu

Weight loss is common in elderly people with dementia, particularly those with Alzheimer's disease, and feeding difficulties are major issues in their care in the later stages of their disease. This review summarizes data from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of weight changes with dementia, physiologic aspects of the metabolic and nutritional changes in dementia, and treatment strategies to minimize weight loss.

Keywords: Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, weight loss, nutrition, nursing homes, energy expenditure, aging, elderly, body composition.