Symptômes comportementaux et psychologiques des démences : aspects cliniques

Abstract: Non-cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer''s disease or related disorders, so called behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are among the most stressful features of the disease for both formal and informal caregivers. They have been shown to predict shortened delays of entry in long-term care facilities and are associated with increased financial burden of the disease management. Recent studies that documented BPSD in wide samples of demented patients using reliable rating scales such as the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) show that the phenomenology of non-cognitive symptoms is made of a limited number of clinical dimension such as hyperactivity, psychotic symptoms, mood and affective symptoms, apathy. Recent published data and preliminary results presented here show that these non-cognitive features of the disease have a significant but different impact of quality of life of both the patient and his caregiver. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]