Neuropsychological differentiation of late-onset schizophrenia and dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

Full Abstract

Late-onset schizophrenia and dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) often present with some pathological and behavioral commonalities. Specifically, both illnesses may involve varying degrees of delusional manifestation, apathy, lateral/third-ventricular enlargement, reduced frontal lobe activity, and hippocampal atrophy. Moreover, patients with either disease have shown comparable cognitive impairment on standardized neuropsychological tests. As such, a differential diagnosis of the 2 disorders on the basis of such testing can prove to be difficult. This study evaluated the neuropsychological test results of 32 patients with late-onset schizophrenia and 32 patients with DAT to distinguish the tests that best differentiate the 2 disorders. Results indicate that the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Similarities subtest and the California Verbal Learning Test (both short- and long-delay free recall) correspond to sensitive diagnostic neuropsychological measures. This investigation was preliminary in nature, and should aid in the development of a definitive differential profile.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Zakzanis, Konstantine K (KK); Andrikopoulos, Jim (J); Young, Donald A (DA); Campbell, Zachariah (Z); Sethian, Taline (T);

Affiliation: Division of Life Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. zakzanis(-atsign-)utsc.utoronto.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Applied neuropsychology (Appl Neuropsychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-; vol 10 (issue 2) : pp 105-14

Dates: Created 2003/06/05; Completed 2003/09/05; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12788685, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Age of Onset
Aged
Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis; psychology
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Humans

This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.

See 100+ related articles.