ASSESSMENT OF DEPRESSION IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - SYMPTOMS, SYNDROME, AND COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY FINDINGS

The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and DSM-III-R criteri a were simultaneously employed to assess the prevalence of depression in 26 outpatients with dementia of the Alzheimer type and 26 age-match ed normal control subjects. Both assessment methods evidenced a higher frequency of depression during the severe stages of Alzheimer's disea se. Among the Alzheimer patients, the prevalence rate of depression pr oduced by the HAM-D (38%) was higher than the rate produced by DSM-III -R criteria (23%). Such a difference was due to the weight given by th e HAM-D to the vegetative symptoms reported by the Alzheimer patients with more severe dementia. In a subgroup of 14 Alzheimer patients who underwent computed tomography, the volumetric measurement of CSF space s did not reveal any difference between the depressed and nondepressed patients. On the basis of these results, the clinical problems relate d to the assessment of depression in Alzheimer's disease are discussed .