[Clinical differences in senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type and in multi-infarct dementia]

Impoverished grasp of the abstract and the essential notions (IG) and delusion of stealing (DS) were investigated in Alzheimer's senile dementia (ASD) and multi-infarction dementia (MID). IG severity was evaluated in impairment of memory and disorientation in 67 ASD and 70 MID patients. DS was studied in 24 ASD and 56 MID patients. It was found that in similar impairment of memory and disorientation, IG was more distinct in ASD, especially at early stages of the disease. DS occurred more frequently in ASD than in MID. In MID the IG and DS symptoms were more common and severe in patients over 80. No age-specific relations were recorded in ASD. The findings suggest involvement of cerebral senile-atrophic processes in IG and DS genesis in MID patients.