Summary
Neuropsychiatric manifestations are common in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Nearly all patients eventually exhibit some form of behavioral change. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) is a valid and reliable means of assessing behavioral alterations in patients with AD and other dementias. The NPI assesses ten common types of behavioral changes evident in AD and has a caregiver distress scale allowing assessment of the amount of distress engendered by each of the behavioral changes. Investigations using the NPI and neuroimaging have demonstrated correlations between apathy and diminished medial frontal perfusion and psychosis and disproportionately reduced perfusion of left medial orbital frontal, left anterior cingulate, left and right dorsolateral frontal, left dorsal lateral parietal, left pulmonar, left ventral striatum, and left cerebellum. High scores on the dysphoria subscale of the NPI correlate with reduced metabolism in the left and right superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and anterior cingulate gyrus. The NPI also allows assessment of the response of behaviors to psychopharmacological interventions. Reductions in behavioral pathology have been demonstrated with cholinesterase inhibitors (tacrine, donepezil, metrifonate, galantamine, and rivastigmine) as well as antipsychotic agents (olanzapine).
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© 2001 Springer Japan
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Cummings, J.L. (2001). Behavioral Manifestations of Alzheimer’s Disease. In: Miyoshi, K., Shapiro, C.M., Gaviria, M., Morita, Y. (eds) Contemporary Neuropsychiatry. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-67897-7_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-67897-7_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
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