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Biomedical subjects

G S Alexopoulos

Publications and source records attributed to G S Alexopoulos.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Diagnosing cognitive dysfunction in the elderly: primary screening tests.

The recognition of cognitive disturbances in geriatric patients has important clinical implications for the primary care physician. Commonly seen cognitive dysfunctions include dementia, pseudodementia, delirium, and frontal lobe syndrome; these may be confounded by overlapping depression. The cognitive examination covers such intellectual and behavioral functions as attention, memory, and language. As many psychiatric disorders result from neurologic brain disease, a psychiatric examination is essential. Mental status questionnaires are useful for screening of high-risk populations for dementia and to quantify the degree of cognitive dysfunction for purposes of management planning and surveillance.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Verbal memory and plasma drug concentrations in elderly depressives treated with nortriptyline.

Performance on a verbal memory task and affective state were assessed in geriatric major depressives before and during 6 weeks of treatment with nortriptyline (NT) in a fixed-dose design study. Higher plasma NT concentration was associated with poorer free recall but better affective outcome. In contrast, higher plasma Z-10-hydroxynortriptyline (Z-10-OH-NT) concentration was associated with more efficient free recall. Concentration-effect relationships were noted in patients later classified as cognitively unimpaired using the Dementia Rating Scale after optimal treatment, rather than in those with residual cognitive impairment.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Depression in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease involves cognitive and noncognitive manifestations including varying degrees of depression. The depressive syndromes of Alzheimer's patients are similar to those of nondemented patients and frequently are identified by patients themselves and their relatives. There is evidence that the depression of Alzheimer's disease is caused by familial and neurobiologic factors. The clinical importance in identifying depression in Alzheimer's disease lies in its responsiveness to antidepressant treatments.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1989

Chronicity and relapse in geriatric depression.

Recent advances in the methodology of longitudinal investigations have permitted the identification of predictors of chronicity and relapse of depression. However, findings from mixed-age populations may not be directly applicable to geriatric depression. The effects of medical illness, cognitive dysfunction, and neuroradiological abnormalities on the outcome of geriatric depression merit further evaluation. Late-onset depression requires special attention, since medical and neurological disorders may be particularly important factors in these cases.

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PubMed1989

Clonidine challenge of cortisol secretion in dementia and geriatric depression.

The effect of oral clonidine challenge on cortisol secretion was evaluated in seven patients with primary degenerative dementia and in seven patients with major depression. Postclonidine cortisol levels were decreased in all depressed patients and in demented patients with hypercortisolemia at baseline. Demented patients with normal cortisol levels at baseline developed increased post-clonidine cortisol levels. These preliminary findings suggest differences in noradrenergic regulation of cortisol secretion among patients with primary degenerative dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia.

The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia is introduced. This is a 19-item clinician-administered instrument that uses information from interviews with both the patient and a nursing staff member, a method suitable for demented patients. The scale has high interrater reliability (kw = 0.67), internal consistency (coefficient alpha: 0.84), and sensitivity. Total Cornell Scale scores correlate (0.83) with depressive subtypes of various intensity classified according to Research Diagnostic Criteria.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Geriatric depression.

Depression in later life can present unique clinical and therapeutic challenges. Phenomenology is often atypical and the concurrence of physical illness can confound both diagnosis and treatment. A review of current knowledge about epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, and therapeutic issues is presented.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Isomers of 10-hydroxynortriptyline in geriatric depression.

In geriatric, depressed inpatients treated with nortriptyline (NT), total unconjugated plasma concentrations of the Z isomer of the 10-hydroxylated metabolite (10-OH-NT) were determined simultaneously with concentrations of the E isomer by high-performance liquid chromatography. Z-10-OH-NT concentrations averaged 14% of E-10-OH-NT concentrations.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Use of the Cornell scale in nondemented patients.

The Cornell scale is a 19-item clinician-administered scale of depression that uses information from interviews with both patients and their caregivers. The Cornell scale has been validated in demented patients. In this study, the Cornell scale was psychometically tested in nondemented geriatric subjects by administering it to 15 depressed patients, 15 patients with other psychiatric diagnoses, and 15 normal control subjects. The Cornell scale had high interrater reliability (Cohen's kappa = 0.74), internal consistency (Kuder-Richardson's coefficient = 0.98), and sensitivity, and correlated significantly (Spearman's r = 0.81) with Research Diagnostic Criteria psychiatric diagnoses associated with various intensity of depression. To our knowledge, the Cornell scale is the only depression-rating instrument that has been validated in both demented and nondemented geriatric subjects.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Drug-induced dystonia in young and elderly patients.

This retrospective study examined the common notion that neuroleptic-induced dystonia is less frequent in elderly patients. The hospital records of 45 young patients and 45 elderly patients were reviewed. Thirty-one percent of the young patients developed dystonia, compared to 2% of the elderly patients. This significant difference did not appear to be the result of types of neuroleptics used, dose, or concomitant administration of anticholinergic drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Late-onset depression.

Clinical and biologic studies of geriatric depression are reviewed to evaluate the role of age of onset as a distinguishing parameter. The findings suggest that late-onset depressives have a different presentation, more frequent relapses, and a greater association with medical disorders, dementia, and aging-related biologic changes than early-onset geriatric depressives. Careful clinical evaluation and follow-up of late-onset depressives are suggested. Longitudinal investigations of geriatric depressed patients are needed in order to study the frequency and time of occurrence of various clinical outcomes and identify predictors of outcome in late- and early-onset geriatric depression.

Age Factors↗