Psychotic disorders in older persons

Psychotic phenomena occur across the spectrum of psychiatric disorders of l ater life, either as the primary presenting feature as in schizophrenia, or as associated psychopathology in dementing and affective disorders, Review ed in this paper are recent publications that have addressed diagnostic, ph enomenological, aetiological and treatment issues pertaining to these areas . As with previous studies, most reports have continued to examine either d ementia or schizophrenia separately. Although there does not appear to be n europathological evidence of Alzheimer's disease, in particular, in post-mo rtem examination of patients with schizophrenia, the frequent co-morbidity of psychotic symptoms and cognitive deficits in late-life syndromes still r emains to be clarified. Curr Opin Psychiatry 14:377-381. (C) 2001 Lippincot t Williams & Wilkins.