DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN ALZHEIMER-DISEASE - ASSESSMENT AND DETERMINANTS

Depression is difficult to assess in Alzheimer disease (AD) and contro versy surrounds the prevalence, etiology, and characteristics of mood alterations in patients with this disorder. We used a variety of stand ardized instruments to assess mood changes in 33 patients with AD. The frequency of depression ranged from 6 to 30%, depending on the diagno stic criteria employed. No relationship was found between patient depr ession and dementia severity, self-awareness of cognitive deficits (as measured by a memory self-rating scale), or mood of the caregiver. De lusional patients had higher scores on mood rating scales than nondelu sional patients. The results suggest that depression in AD is not seve re and is unrelated to patient self-awareness of illness. We hypothesi ze that the cholinergic deficit of AD may ameliorate depressive sympto ms.