Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia in Down syndrome: Early indicators of clinical Alzheimer's disease?
Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) are a core symptom of dementia and are associated with suffering, earlier institutionalization and accelerated cognitive decline for patients and increased caregiver burden. Despite the extremely high risk for Down syndrome (DS) individuals to develop dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD), BPSD have not been comprehensively assessed in the DS population. Due to the great variety of DS cohorts, diagnostic methodologies, sub-optimal scales, covariates and outcome measures, it is questionable whether BPSD have always been accurately assessed. However, accurate recognition of BPSD may increase awareness and understanding of these behavioural aberrations, thus enabling adaptive caregiving and, importantly, allowing for therapeutic interventions. Particular BPSD can be observed (long) before the clinical dementia diagnosis and could therefore serve as early indicators of those at risk, and provide a new, non-invasive way to monitor, or at least give an indication of, the complex progression to dementia in DS. Therefore, this review summarizes and evaluates the rather limited knowledge on BPSD in DS and highlights its importance and potential for daily clinical practice.
Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Research Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Laboratory of Neurochemistry and Behaviour, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: a.d.dekker@umcg.nl.
Alain D
AD
Dekker
Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.strydom@ucl.ac.uk.
André
A
Strydom
Department for Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Tonnie.Coppus@radboudumc.nl.
Antonia M W
AM
Coppus
The Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom; Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: d.nizetic@qmul.ac.uk.
Dean
D
Nizetic
Laboratory of Neurochemistry and Behaviour, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: yannick.vermeiren@uantwerpen.be.
Yannick
Y
Vermeiren
Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Research Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: p.j.w.naude@umcg.nl.
Petrus J W
PJ
Naudé
Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Research Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Laboratory of Neurochemistry and Behaviour, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: debby.vandam@uantwerpen.be.
Debby
D
Van Dam
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Inserm, CNRS, UM 75, U 1127, UMR 7225, ICM, Paris, France. Electronic address: marie-claude.potier@upmc.fr.
Marie-Claude
MC
Potier
Catalan Down Syndrome Foundation and Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jfortea@santpau.cat.
Juan
J
Fortea
Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Research Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Laboratory of Neurochemistry and Behaviour, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: p.p.de.deyn@umcg.nl.
Peter P
PP
De Deyn
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
Alzheimer's disease; BPSD; Dementia; Down syndrome; Neuropsychiatric symptoms