R C van der Mast

..Especially in old age, apathy might be a specific neuropsychiatric syndrome separate from depression. There are indications that apathy in elderly subjects is related to vascular disease...

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..Scientific research for the development of an evidence-based practice guideline is urgently needed...

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..This means that the prevention of atherosclerosis might prevent cognitive impairment and hence late-onset depression in old age...

..In Huntington's disease (HD) the risk of suicide is increased. Since suicidality may precede suicide, this study investigates prevalence, clinical associations and predictors of suicidality in HD...

..After exclusion of 10 depressed patients, apathy was independently associated with male sex, worse global functioning, and higher use of neuroleptics and benzodiazepines...

..Atherosclerosis may be linked to cognitive decline and depression in old age...

..In cases of concurrent alcohol withdrawal syndrome, delirium may be treated with haloperidol and a benzodiazepine and B-vitamins. Medical and environmental interventions have been shown to reduce the incidence and duration of delirium...

..Future research requires larger cohorts stratified to disease stage, consistent methodologies, and adequate comparison groups...

..The diagnosis and treatment of a possible case of neuropsychiatric SLE should preferably take place in a multidisciplinary setting...

..CONCLUSION: This longitudinal study does not confirm the involvement of cerebrovascular disease expressed as MRI white matter hyperintensities in the development of depressive symptoms in elderly subjects...

..In old age, apathy as a syndrome in itself and depression may have different etiologies. Inflammatory markers have been associated with depression in the elderly, but the relation with apathy is unknown...

..The causes seem to be largely organic...

..Late-life depression may differ from early-life depression in its phenomenology...

..Since the aging process is associated with a dysregulation of the immune system, the inflammation hypothesis might be particularly true in late-life depression...

..long-term effects. The results do support an association between serotonergic function and mood, but not between glucose metabolism and mood, in recurrent suicide attempters...

..Further controlled trails are needed to firmly establish the efficacy and safety of ECT in mental retardation...

..Therefore, this study aims to identify both the factor and subscale structure of late-life depression underlying the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self Report (IDS-SR) in older persons...

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..Of the SD patients 74.5% were referred for aftercare management, significantly more than the other two groups which is considered a promising development in C-L psychiatry...

..It is important to follow through all the steps of the guidelines for treatment of depression and to continue psychiatric management and care in these kind of situations...

..On the basis of this review of the literature some diagnostic techniques are recommended that can be applied if FTD is suspected...

..The investigation and exploration of clinical subtypes of delirium may provide information concerning the etiology, the pathogenesis, and the prognosis of delirium, but also may have therapeutic consequences...