International psychogeriatrics
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Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are highly prevalent among nursing home patients with dementia. Several studies have investigated subsyndromes of NPS but the stability of these subsyndromes over time has rarely been examined. We have examined the stability over time of the factor structure of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home version (NPI-NH) in a large sample of nursing-home patients with dementia. ⋯ Subsyndromes of the NPI-NH are relatively stable over 31-month follow-up assessments in nursing-home patients with dementia, indicating that these subsyndromes may be useful for following the natural course of symptoms as well as observing the effect of interventions. Our findings lend support to the distinction between apathy and affective symptoms, which may have important clinical implications.
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Very few studies from India have studied the phenomenology of delirium. The aim of the present study was to study the phenomenology as measured using the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R98), the associated etiologies and the outcome of delirium among the elderly participants seen by the consultation-liaison psychiatric service in India. In addition, an attempt was made to study the factor structure of symptoms using principal components analysis. ⋯ Results suggest that the symptoms of delirium as assessed by DRS-R98 separate out into a three-factor structure. Delirium is commonly associated with metabolic endocrine disturbances and about one-sixth of the patients die during the short inpatient stay.
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Single-volume proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) has considerable diagnostic potential for Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study investigated 1H MRS in specific regions of the brain, the posterior cingulate gyri (PCG) and the hippocampus, in patients with AD, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and in normal control subjects. ⋯ Proton MRS of the PCG using the NAA/Cr ratio as a metabolic marker indicates considerable potential for distinguishing between aMCI and NC subjects.