Articles: dementia.
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Acta Psychiatr Scand · Jun 1988
Dexamethasone suppression test and response to antidepressant therapy in psychogeriatric patients.
Senile dementia patients show a high incidence of abnormal Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) which has been suggested to reflect the presence of atypical or subclinical depression; this study was designed to test this hypothesis. Thirty-six patients, diagnosed as suffering from dementia and/or depression on the DSM-III criteria, participated in the study. They were divided into three groups. dementia (12), depression (12) and dementia with depression (12). ⋯ Demented patients who had clinical depression also showed a poor response. The response to treatment was unrelated to the DST status of the patients. It is concluded that abnormal DST in dementia patients is not indicative of a masked affective state, and antidepressants have no place in the management of dementia patients who have a positive DST but no overt affective symptoms.
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Recent literature on the relationships among dementia, depression, and social support was reviewed, with particular emphasis on the diagnostic differentiation of dementia and depression, and the role of these three entities in elderly individuals with cognitive impairment. Dementia-like symptoms arising in depression and the coexistence of dementia and depression are discussed. Research is necessary to determine more objective criteria for depression and dementia, to provide cognitive and psychiatric testing for elderly individuals, to clarify the diagnostic or prognostic value of the term pseudodementia, and to further elucidate relationships between depression, dementia, and social support.