Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:1099-1103
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
Bedside differentiation of depressive pseudodementia from dementia
CF Reynolds 3d, CC Hoch, DJ Kupfer, DJ Buysse, PR Houck, JA Stack and DW Campbell
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15213.
The authors analyzed the pretreatment clinical presentations of 14 patients
with depressive pseudodementia and 28 patients with primary degenerative
dementia as measured by the Mini-Mental State, the Blessed Dementia Rating
Scale, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. They found that
patients with pseudodementia showed significantly greater pretreatment
early morning awakening, higher ratings of psychological anxiety, and more
severe impairment of libido. Patients with dementia, however, showed
significantly more disorientation to time, greater difficulty finding their
way about familiar streets or indoors, and more impairment with dressing.
The authors suggest that these findings be considered preliminary.
