title: Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Posterior Cortical Atrophy and Alzheimer Disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a rare neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by early progressive visual dysfunction in the context of relative preservation of memory and a pattern of atrophy mainly involving the posterior cortex. The aim of the present study is to characterize the neuropsychiatric profile of PCA.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Neuropsychiatric Inventory was used to assess 12 neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in 28 patients with PCA and 34 patients with typical Alzheimer disease (AD) matched by age, disease duration, and illness severity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most commonly reported NPS in both groups were depression, anxiety, apathy, and irritability. However, aside from a trend toward lower rates of apathy in patients with PCA, there were no differences in the percentage of NPS presented in each group. All those patients presenting visual hallucinations in the PCA group also met diagnostic criteria for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Auditory hallucinations were only present in patients meeting diagnosis criteria for DLB.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prevalence of the 12 NPS examined was similar between patients with PCA and AD. Hallucinations in PCA may be helpful in the differential diagnosis between PCA-AD and PCA-DLB.
authors.affiliation: Memory Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Seville, Spain Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegeneration, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom aida.gonzalez@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suárez-González
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegeneration, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sebastian J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Crutch
authors.affiliation: Memory Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Franco-Macías
authors.affiliation: Memory Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío, Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Eulogio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gil-Néciga
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications; D057565:Apathy; D001284:Atrophy / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007508:Irritable Mood; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: neuropsychiatric inventory; neuropsychiatric symptoms; posterior cortical atrophy; visual hallucinations