The prevalence and clinical correlates of apathy and irritability in Alzheimer's disease

We examined the prevalence and correlates of apathy and irritability in a consecutive series of 101 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). Based on clinical criteria, 46 (46%) patients had apathy, and 13 (13%) patients had irritability. Apathy was significantly associated with more severe impairments in activities of daily living, significantly more severe extrapyramidal signs, and a significantly higher frequency of both major depression and dysthymia. Patients with irritability had significantly more severe impairments in activities of daily living and significantly higher depression and anosognosia scores. On the other hand, neither apathy nor irritability were significantly associated with deficits in specific cognitive domains.     

Bupropion improved apathy in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia: a case report

ABSTRACT

Apathy is a common neurobehavioral sign in cases of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. However, there is still no established sustained effective treatment. We present the case of a 65-year-old man with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia who suffered from severe apathy, but his apathy improved after a 10-month period of bupropion treatment. His single photon emission computed tomography report also showed slight improvement. To the best of our knowledge, such a case with imaging evidence has never been reported. Further studies to correlate the effects of bupropion on apathy in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia patients are clearly needed.     

Neuropsychiatric characteristics of PiB-negative subcortical vascular dementia versus behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia

BackgroundNeuropsychiatric symptoms of subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD) are mainly associated with damage to frontal-subcortical circuits and may be similar to symptoms of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). The aim of this study was to determine whether the neuropsychiatric manifestations of the Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-negative SVaD and bvFTD groups differ.MethodsWe compared the Caregiver-Administered Neuropsychiatry Inventory (CGA-NPI) between 48 patients with PiB(−) SVaD and 31 patients with bvFTD. A stepwise logistic regression was applied to determine the best model to predict SVaD.ResultsThe SVaD group showed a higher frequency of depression, whereas the bvFTD group had a higher frequency of elation, aberrant motor behavior and appetite/eating disorders. Regarding NPI subscores, the bvFTD group had greater severity of elation, apathy, disinhibition, aberrant motor behavior and appetite/eating disorders, whereas SVaD did not have significantly higher subscores in any domains. The most predictive models that tend to find suggestions of SVaD, as opposed to bvFTD, are as follows: (1) the presence of depression and the absence of appetite/eating disorders, (2) higher NPI subscores of depression and lower NPI subscores of irritability and aberrant motor behavior.ConclusionApart from apathy, SVaD differed from bvFTD in that negative symptoms were more common in SVaD than bvFTD, whereas positive symptoms were predominant in bvFTD compared to SVaD.     

Apathy is associated with white matter abnormalities in anterior,medial brain regions in persons with HIV infection

Apathy is a relatively common psychiatric syndrome in HIV infection, but little is known about its neural correlates. In the present study, we examined the associations between apathy and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) indices in key frontal white matter regions in the thalamocorticostriatal circuit, which has been implicated in the expression of apathy. Nineteen participants with HIV infection and 19 demographically comparable seronegative comparison subjects completed the Apathy subscale of the Frontal Systems Behavioral Scale as a part of a comprehensive neuropsychiatric research evaluation. When compared to the seronegative participants, the HIV+ group had significantly more frontal white matter abnormalities. Within HIV+ persons, and as predicted, higher ratings of apathy were associated with greater white matter alterations in the anterior corona radiata, genu, and orbital medial prefrontal cortex. The associations between white matter alterations and apathy were independent of depression and were stronger among participants with lower current cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) counts. All told, these findings indicate that apathy is independently associated with white matter abnormalities in anterior, medial brain regions in persons infected with HIV, particularly in the setting of lower current immune functioning, which may have implications for antiretroviral therapy.     

The Independent Contributions of Cognitive Impairment and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms to Everyday Function in Older Adults

The everyday functional capacities of older adults are determined by multiple factors. The primary goal of the present study was to evaluate whether apathy and depression have unique influences on degree of functional impairment, independent of the effects of specific cognitive impairments. Participants included 344 older adults (199 normal, 87 with MCI, 58 with dementia). The Everyday Cognition (ECog) scales were used to measure both global and domain-specific functional abilities. Neuropsychiatric symptoms of depression and apathy were measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), and specific neuropsychological domains measured included episodic memory and executive functioning. Results indicated that worse memory and executive function, as well as greater depression and apathy, were all independent and additive determinants of poorer functional abilities. Apathy had a slightly more restricted effect than the other variables across the specific functional domains assessed. Secondary analysis suggested that neuropsychiatric symptoms may be more strongly associated with everyday function within cognitively normal and MCI groups, while cognitive impairment is more strongly associated with everyday function in dementia. Thus, a somewhat different set of factors may be associated with functional status across various clinical groups.     

Evolution of neuropsychological profile in motor subtypes of multiple system atrophy

IntroductionCognitive deficits and neuropsychiatric symptoms occur in parkinsonian and cerebellar subtypes of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA-P and MSA-C). These symptoms have been investigated mainly in cross-sectional studies. The present 1-year follow-up study aimed at evaluating the evolution of cognitive and neuropsychiatric profile in patients with MSA-C and MSA-P.MethodsTwenty-nine patients with MSA-P, 21 with MSA-C and 30 healthy subjects (HCs) underwent a neuropsychological battery and questionnaires assessing depression and apathy (T0). After 1 year (T1), patients with MSA-C and MSA-P underwent the same neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric tools employed at T0.ResultsAt T0, MSA-P and MSA-C groups were more depressed and apathetic and performed worse on tests assessing repetition abilities, executive and attentive functions than HCs. MSA-P and MSA-C groups did not differ on cognitive variables and neuropsychiatric scales. At T1, a significant worsening in spatial planning and psychomotor speed in MSA-C group and a significant worsening in memory, spatial planning, repetition abilities and functional autonomy in MSA-P group were found. The prevalence of apathy increased in both subtypes, whereas the prevalence of depression was reduced in MSA-C and relatively consistent in MSA-P.ConclusionsThe finding revealed a wide-ranging worsening of cognitive functions in MSA-P and a significant decline in processing speed in MSA-C. These results underline the relevance of evaluating cognitive and psychiatric features of MSA over the course of the disease in the daily clinical practice.     

阿尔茨海默病患者淡漠综合征的临床评价研究

目的 评价阿尔茨海默病(Alzheimer's disease,AD)患者应用淡漠评估量表临床医师评定版(apathy evaluation scale-clinician administered,AES-C)评估的价值,探讨阿尔茨海默病患者淡漠症状的影响因素.方法 选取26例阿尔茨海默病患者为研究组(n=26),同时选择26例正常对照组(n=26).对2组分别进行以淡漠评估量表(AES-C)为主的多个量表评定.收集患者年龄、性别、文化程度等一般资料,评估AES-C量表的内部一致性.通过单因素分析相关影响因素,探讨AES-C得分和认知功能损害的联系.结果 年龄、文化程度相关系数分别为0.169和-0.162(P<0.05),表明AES-C与年龄呈弱正相关,与文化程度呈弱负相关;研究组患者中淡漠症状的存在与认知功能的定向力、记忆力、执行能力及总体水平呈负相关(P<0.05);研究组和对照组AES-C与GDS得分之间的相关系数为0.423,二者存在弱相关,差异具有统计学意义(r=0.423,P<0.05).结论 淡漠评估量表可靠性较好,可用于评估阿尔茨海默病淡漠症状.淡漠在阿尔茨海默病患者中普遍存在,淡漠症状的严重程度与认知功能损害呈显著相关,这些患者的认知功能损害程度也越严重.阿尔茨海默病患者的淡漠发生可能与认知功能减退、年龄和抑郁症状等多种因素相关.     

On the evolution of attachment-disordered behaviour

Using an example of a goose which grew up in complete isolation, this article shows how escape behaviour increases through all its developmental steps by lack of a sufficient secure primary attachment object. If a gosling has no mother, its fear influences wide parts of its behaviour and blocks the capacity to approach another animal in order to form a new attachment. But the urge for attachment is still alive and provokes strong conflicts between this urge and fear. In these situations displacement activities and apathy occur – attachment-disordered behaviour. Under partly artificial circumstances, a change to ‘normal’ attachment behaviour took place by reduction of escape motivation, which enabled the goose to accept her brood. From this moment on the attachment-disordered behaviour, the displacement activity and the apathy disappeared. Implications to human behaviour are drawn – a comparison between displacement activity and neurotic symptoms, the state of apathy and personal disorder. A synthesis of ethological and psychoanalytical models concerning etiological and therapeutic aspects is discussed. Fear and attachment, not aggression and sexuality – our ‘animal heritage’ – are the primary factors which influence our development. The balance of fear and attachment is the basis for a healthy or unhealthy development of social relationships. This applies to social living animals as well as to humans.     

Validation of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) section I as a screening and diagnostic instrument for apathy in patients with Parkinson's disease

We examined the validity of the motivation/initiative item of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) section I as a screening and diagnostic measure for apathy in Parkinson's disease (PD). Fifty-eight patients with PD were evaluated with the UPDRS, the 14-item Apathy Scale (AS), and standardized rating scales of depression and cognitive impairment. Apathy was diagnosed using specific items of the AS together with proposed criteria for apathy. A score of 2 or more on the motivation/initiative item was adequate to screen for apathy, whereas a score of 4 had high diagnostic accuracy at the cost of unacceptable low sensitivity.