Prediction of psychosis onset in Alzheimer disease: The role of cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms, and further evidence for psychosis subtypes.

BACKGROUND: Psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer disease (AD+P) identify a heritable phenotype associated with more rapid cognitive decline. The authors have proposed that AD+P is itself a composite of a misidentification and a paranoid subtype with increased cognitive impairment restricted to the misidentification type. Most prior studies of the clinical correlates of AD+P have been limited, however, by the inclusion of prevalent cases. METHODS: Subjects with possible or probable AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) without psychosis at study entry were assessed at the time of initial presentation and then annually. Psychotic symptoms were assessed using the CERAD Behavioral Rating Scale. Survival analyses used Cox proportional hazard models with time-dependent covariates to examine the predictors of psychosis onset. RESULTS: A total of 288 subjects completed at least one follow-up examination. Mean duration of follow-up was 22.1 months. The incidence of psychosis was 0.19 per person-year. Cognitive impairment was associated with onset of psychosis, largely as a result of its association with onset of the misidentification, but not the paranoid, subtype. Including psychotropic medication use in the model revealed an association of antidepressant use with the onset of psychosis. This latter association appeared to arise from an underlying association between depression and the risk of psychosis onset rather than from antidepressant treatment. CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the misidentification and the paranoid subtypes each define a more biologically homogeneous group than AD+P as a whole. Further exploration of the relationship between depressive symptoms and psychosis in patients with AD is warranted.     

胰胆管合流异常动物模型的建立

目的建立胰胆管合流异常的动物模型。方法选用健康杂种猫10只。术前禁食12 h,3.5%戊巴比妥钠麻醉后,取上腹正中切口约6 cm切开各层至腹腔。于胆总管入十二指肠处旁边,切开胰腺背膜,解剖胰管;靠近十二指肠处分别纵向切开胰管、胆管长约4~6 mm的切口。6-0线间断吻合切口,造成类似人类的胰胆管合流的共同通道。术后20天胆道造影。结果术后动物精神、食欲良好,无萎靡、烦燥等表现,造影显示胰胆管合流共同通道延长。结论本动物模型最接近于人类的胰胆管合流异常生理,优于其他动物模型。