Negative symptoms, depression and Alzheimer's disease.
OBJECTIVE
To apply the negative symptoms (NS) concept used in schizophrenia to patients with AD, to compare the results with the frontal lobe perfusion in ethyl cysteinate dimmer (ECD) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and with the apolipoprotein E genotype.


METHODS
32 patients with a diagnosis of probable AD were assessed by the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS-N), the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Scale (MADRS), the NeuroPsychiatric Inventory (NPI), and the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE). Each patient underwent ECD SPECT and APO E genotyping. PANSS-N, MADRS, NPI, and MMSE were administered to 19 normal elderly control subjects.


RESULTS
The mean PANSS-N score for AD patients (20.56, SD: 8, range: 7-40) was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than that of controls (7, SD: 0). MADRS scores were not significantly different (p = 0.75) between AD patients (9.03, SD: 6.14, range: 0-25) and controls (6.2, SD: 3.61, range: 1-15). The NPI apathy score (0-12) was correlated with PANSS-N (p < 0.001). Correlation between prominent frontal hypoperfusion (six cases) and NS was at the limit of significance. No relation was found between epsilon E4 and NS.


CONCLUSIONS
This consideration is important in distinguishing between depression and AD.
Vercelletto
Martine
M
Clinique Neurologique, CHU Nord, Nantes, France. mvercelletto@chu-nantes.fr
Martinez
Florence
F
Lanier
Sophie
S
Magne
Christine
C
Jaulin
Philippe
P
Bourin
Michel
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D001057:Apolipoproteins E