Psychiatric phenomena in Alzheimer's disease; IV: Disorders of behavior
Article Abstract:
Alzheimer's disease is most often characterized by its cognitive symptoms, such as loss of memory, but patients with this condition frequently exhibit behavioral problems as well. These behavioral problems can severely distress those who care for Alzheimer's patients, and lead to the institutionalization of problem patients. A study of 178 patients with Alzheimer's disease was conducted to evaluate the extent and nature of behavioral symptoms. In addition, to learn more about the possible neuropathology of the disease, behavioral problems were correlated with results of scores on a modification of a test, devised by Kluver and Bucy, which examines the effects of temporal lobectomy (removal of the temporal lobes in the brain) in monkeys. Behavioral disturbances measured by the Kluver & Bucy test include loss of sexual inhibition, binge eating and putting things into the mouth, going into rages, and withdrawal/apathy. Other behavioral symptoms studied were aggression, wandering, and urinary incontinence. Aggression was present in 20 percent of the patients, wandering in 19 percent, binge eating in 10 percent, putting things into the mouth in 6 percent, urinary incontinence in 48 percent, and sexual misbehavior in 7 percent. These results demonstrate that behavioral disturbances affect a significant number of Alzheimer's patients, and that they are correlated with disease severity. Some of the features of the Kluver-Bucy syndrome were also evident, although abnormal sexual behavior was infrequent. Since the majority of behavioral disturbances were related to the severity of the Alzheimer's dementia, the associated behavior is most likely a consequence of advancing brain damage. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: British Journal of Psychiatry
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0007-1250
Year: 1990
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Computerised tomography in Alzheimer's disease: methods of scan analysis, comparison with normal controls, and clinical/radiological associations
Article Abstract:
The computerized tomography (CT) scan is the most widely used radiological technique for investigating the structure of the brain. Despite the availability of other techniques that yield more detailed information about the brain, none is less invasive than the CT scan. The CT scan can show structural brain abnormalities and is often useful in the differential diagnosis of psychiatric disorders. In the present study, CT scans of 138 patients who met the clinical criteria for Alzheimer's disease, a type of dementia, were compared with scans of non-demented, age- and sex-matched control patients. Cognitive functioning was assessed, and CT scans were evaluated both visually and with the assistance of a computer. Visual and computer-aided interpretations of the CT scans were consistent in finding significantly more brain atrophy (decrease in size) in the Alzheimer's group compared with the controls. In 81 percent of the cases, membership in either group could be predicted by evaluating the CT scan. Atrophy in patients with Alzheimer's disease increased in severity with age and duration of illness; deficits in cognitive function were related to atrophy as well. It is important to note that while the CT scan is useful in differential diagnosis, its usefulness is limited, as evidenced by the overlap between the normal and control subjects (19 percent) of the study patients. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: British Journal of Psychiatry
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0007-1250
Year: 1991
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