Expert opinion in Alzheimer disease: The silent scream of patients and their family during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic is expected to be the greatest challenge for mental health since World War II in general, but the toll exacted on patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and their family is the greatest in several respects. AD patients are at the highest risk for contagion and death from the disease, but also at the very bottom in the list of priorities to access critical care services at times of medical resource scarcity. In this communication we examine the impact of the pandemic on AD patients and their family from the general medical, neurological, and mental health perspectives. We propose that instances of undue restriction of access to care based upon age and diagnosis show that society, governments, and health professionals need to exert maximum care, human compassion, and adherence to original Hippocratic values when addressing the needs of persons with AD and other major neurocognitive disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that psychiatry is called to contribute to societal measures oriented to diminish human burden in this population.