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Background: Confabulations are often observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and can increase family caregivers’ burdens. Previous studies have focused on the relationship between confabulation and cognitive ability. However, few studies have investigated the association between confabulation and familial factors. Here, we aimed to examine whether confabulation relates to familial factors, such as the level of family caregivers’ expressed emotion or the level of functioning of the family. Methods: Twenty‐seven outpatients with AD and their family caregivers participated in this study. We examined confabulations about episodic memory, semantic memory, and future planning using the Modified Confabulation Battery (MCB). We investigated correlations between scores on the MCB and scores on the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Family Attitude Scale (FAS), and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale. Multiple regression analyses were performed using the total scores on the MCB and domain‐specific scores on the MCB as dependent variables, and the scores on the MMSE, GDS, and FAS as independent variables. Results: MCB scores were positively related to FAS scores (P < 0.01) and negatively to GDS scores (P < 0.05), but not to MMSE scores. Regarding the three domains the MCB measured, confabulation about episodic memory and future planning showed a positive relationship with FAS scores. Conclusions: Family attitude was the factor most related to confabulation in our study. Patients with AD may attempt to avoid confronting family caregivers’ high emotional expression through confabulation, or confabulation itself might result in high emotional expression among family caregivers. Psychoeducational or therapeutic approaches for family caregivers might reduce confabulation in patients with AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although both schizophrenia (SCZ) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are among the most common psychiatric diseases, the interaction of these two is not well-understood. We investigated three women with SCZ who developed AD in their 60s. The patients presented with cognitive dysfunction such as loss of recent memory, which was confirmed by both clinical observations and neuropsychological tests. Their magnetic resonance and functional imaging findings were consistent with AD. Their brain atrophy advanced significantly during a 6-year observation period. However, their global cognitive function did not deteriorate significantly during this period. Although the cognitive reserve model might account for this discrepancy, our results suggest some interactions between the neuropathology of SCZ and AD and warrant further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several reports suggest a higher morbidity of depression in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) than in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, these results have not been duplicated consistently. The psychiatric symptoms of dementia, including depression, are important for its diagnosis and management. Thus, the aim of the present study was to clarify the characteristics of the depressive symptoms in DLB compared with AD using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Methods: We examined the GDS score for 86 patients with probable DLB (based on the Consensus Criteria for the clinical diagnosis of DLB) and 86 patients with probable AD (based on criteria of the National Institute for Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association), who were matched according to age, sex, education, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. We also examined correlations between GDS scores and age, sex, or MMSE scores in both groups. Correlations between GDS scores and metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy were examined in patients with DLB. To characterize the GDS in DLB, its profile was examined using factor structures. Results: Scores for DLB patients were twice as high on the GDS as those for AD patients. There was no correlation between GDS score and age, sex, or MMSE scores in either group. Furthermore, there was no correlation between the results of MIBG scintigraphy and GDS scores in the DLB group. Using factor structures, the depression symptom profile of these diseases suggested that depression-specific symptoms, such as mood, worry, or future outlook, were more frequent in the DLB group than non-specific symptoms, such as lack of energy, decreased concentration, or apathy. Conclusions: The data suggest that depressive symptoms are highly specific symptoms of DLB, independent of other features of this disorder. The GDS could be used as a subsidiary tool in differentiating DLB from AD and is more useful than clinical observations of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]