• Adult protective services
• Community resources
• Homemakers
• Visiting nurses or aides
• Volunteer services

People may need legal advice early in the course of the disorder. Advance directives, power of attorney, and other legal actions can make it easier to make ethical decisions regarding the care of the person with Pick's disease.

Some communities may have support groups (such as the Alzheimer's - support group, elder care - support group, or others).

The disorder quickly and steadily becomes worse. Patients become totally disabled early in the course of the disease.

Pick's disease commonly causes death within 2 - 10 years, usually from infection but sometimes from general failure of the body systems.

• Abuse by an over-stressed caregiver
• Infection
• Loss of ability to care for self or perform normal activities
• Loss of ability to interact with others
• Progressive loss of ability to function
• Side effects of medications used to treat the disorder
• Reduced life span

Call your health care provider if you develop symptoms of Pick's disease.

Call your health care provider or go to the emergency room if mental function gets worse (which may mean that another disorder has developed).

Images

Central nervous system

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Review Date: 03/28/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and Department of Anatomy at UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)