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Relationship between cognitive status and behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer's disease and mixed dementia
A Kurita1, J P Blass, K A Nolan
1Dementia Research Service, Cornell University Medical College, Burke Medical Research Institute, White Plains, New York 10605.
Objective:
To investigate the relationship between cognitive and behavioral impairments in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to examine whether the addition of cerebrovascular disease modifies that relationship.
Design:
Correlational analysis.
Setting:
An outpatient dementia clinic.
Patients:
An autopsy-confirmed series of 28 patients with AD and 16 patients with mixed Alzheimer and vascular dementia (MIX).
Measurements:
Neuropsychological and behavioral tests during life: Mini-Mental State (MMS), Blessed Dementia Scale (BDS), Haycox Dementia Behavior Scale (HDBS), and two non-cognitive functional scales derived from the BDS and HDBS.
Results:
In the AD group, MMS scores correlated significantly with scores on the BDS, HDBS, and two non-cognitive functional scales. In the MIX group, however, no significant relationship was observed between MMS scores and scores on any of the behavioral measures.
Conclusions:
These observations suggest that in AD, cognitive and behavioral impairments progress simultaneously. However, with the addition of a vascular component to the dementing process, cognitive and behavioral impairments may progress more independently.