Book excerpt: A Spectrum-Based Approach to Alzheimer’s. This book is a summary of “The Spectrum of Hope: An Optimistic and New Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, “ by Gayatri Devi, MD. Most people believe that there are no effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. They don’t realize that Alzheimer’s is a spectrum disorder, affecting different people differently. So a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is not necessarily a disaster. Alzheimer’s is a multifactorial disease, so there can be many reasons that someone develops symptoms. Genetics may play a role, but lifestyle choices and many other factors can also lead to the condition. This book addresses the most common daily problems that patients and their families encounter in their journey through life with dementia. It offers a spectrum-based approach to treating Alzheimer’s. This approach allows for finer tuning of both diagnosis and treatment. It has proved to be a better system for patients and their families, with more clinical utility and prognostic value, than thinking of the illness in broad stages of mild, moderate, or severe. The information in this book will be helpful to both Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers. This guide includes: * Book Summary—helps you understand the key concepts. * Online Videos—cover the concepts in more depth. Value-added from this guide: * Save time * Understand key concepts * Expand your knowledge