Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of virtual group music therapy on apathy in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). INTRODUCTION: Apathy affects 40% of people with PD, lacks effective therapies, and independently predicts poorer quality of life and greater caregiver burden. Music therapy is the clinical application of music to address a person's physical or emotional needs and is effective in treating apathy in dementia. METHODS: People with idiopathic PD and apathy (Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, apathy item <u>≥</u> 2) and their caregivers participated in twelve, weekly virtual group music therapy sessions, with session attendance signifying adherence...

Assessment of personality disorders (PDs) in older adults is a nuanced trade of its own. The aim of this practice guide is to illustrate gerontological assessment challenges using 3 case vignettes. We argue that it is important to pay extra attention to the influence of cognitive and medical (somatic) disorders on personality functioning in older adults during personality assessment. We also note that information provided by informants contributes added value to personality assessment. Personality assessment should be sufficiently age-specific to prevent overdiagnosis or underdiagnosis in older adults...

OBJECTIVES: Older adults with psychiatric illnesses often have medical comorbidities that require symptom management and impact prognosis. Geriatric psychiatrists are uniquely positioned to meet the palliative care needs of such patients. This study aims to characterize palliative care needs of geriatric psychiatry patients and utilization of primary palliative care skills and subspecialty referral among geriatric psychiatrists. METHODS: National, cross-sectional survey study of geriatrics psychiatrists in the United States...

Background: Recognizing emotional situations may be impaired in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Purpose: We examined differences in the comprehension of an emotional situation in healthy older controls (HOC) and individuals with mild and moderate AD. Research Design: cross-sectional study. Study Sample: We assessed a convenience sample of 115 participants in 3 contexts: understanding the situation, ability to name the congruent emotion, and choice of the correct face in 4 emotional situations (sadness, surprise, anger, happiness)...

OBJECTIVE: To extend prior research by examining daily driving frequency as a predictor of cognitive decline and later diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: 1,426 older adults completed batteries of questionnaires and neuropsychological tests at baseline and yearly follow-ups (M = 6.8, SD = 4.9). Linear mixed effects models were estimated to examine whether daily driving frequency at baseline was predictive of cognitive decline while accounting for IADLs, mobility, depression, and demographics...

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's Disease (PD) is associated with considerable carer burden, but there has been little qualitative research on the support needs of carers of People with Parkinson's (PwP). METHODS: Semi-structured in-depth interviews with carers of PwP in 11 European countries. RESULTS: Interviews with 36 carers of PwP were analysed. At the time of diagnosis, carers often felt that they had a role in helping get a diagnosis and then in dealing with the impact of the diagnosis on the family...

Background: Approximately 15% of older adults may experience psychotic phenomena. Primary psychiatric disorders that manifest with psychosis (delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thought or behavior) account for less than half. Up to 60% of late-life psychotic symptoms are due to systemic medical or neurological conditions, particularly neurodegenerative diseases. A thorough medical workup including laboratory tests, additional procedures if indicated, and neuroimaging studies is recommended. This narrative review summarizes current evidence regarding the epidemiology and phenomenology of psychotic symptoms encountered as part of the neurodegenerative disease continuum (including prodromal and manifest stages)...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate pharmacological and behavioral interventions for the treatment of fatigue in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, EMBASE, CNKI, Wan fang, and VIP up to July 31, 2022. We used Revman 5.3 software for the meta-analysis. The outcomes included Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and Parkinson's Fatigue Scale (PFS). The mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were collected or calculated...

BACKGROUND: Being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease is a life-changing event and a critical time to help patients cope and move forward in a proactive way. Historically, the main focus of Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment has been on the motor features with limited attention given to non-motor and mental health sequelae, which have the most impact on quality of life. Although depression and anxiety have been described at the time of PD diagnosis, demoralization, intolerance of uncertainty, decreased self-efficacy, stigma and loneliness can also present and have negative effects on the trajectory of the disease...

BACKGROUND: Subjective cognitive complaints are generally poorly associated with objective memory functioning in older persons. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a key feature in SCD and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) which both can represent early Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to assess how memory clinic patients with SCD, MCI and mild AD dementia scored on 3 different complaint measures and if the format of assessment had an impact on the association with cognitive functioning, age, and depressive symptoms...

INTRODUCTION: Active metabolite of vitamin D has neuro-immunomodulatory and neuroprotective properties. However, there is still a debate about the potential association between low serum levels of hydroxy-vitamin D and increased risk for dementia. OBJECTIVES: To determine an association between hypovitaminosis D and dementia for different 25-hydroxyvitamin-D (25(OH)D) serum level cutoffs. METHODS: Patients were identified utilizing the database of Clalit Health Services (CHS), the largest healthcare provider in Israel...

OBJECTIVES: Pain is very prevalent in Parkinson's and challenging to manage. As many people with Parkinson's (PwP) with pain suffer from anxious and depressive symptoms, we examined the role of catastrophizing in mediating the relationship between pain and psychological distress for this population. METHODS: 169 international PwP completed an online survey with socio-demographic and medical data. Participants completed psychometric tests to assess their pain (King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Questionnaire, McGill Pain Questionnaire and Brief Pain Inventory), psychological distress (Beck Depression Inventory and Parkinson Anxiety Scale), pain coping strategies (Coping Strategies Questionnaire) and pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale)...

BACKGROUND: The current comparative efficacy, safety, and acceptability of atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) in treating Parkinson's Disease Psychosis (PDP) are not entirely understood. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate comparative efficacy, safety, and acceptability of AAPs in patients with PDP. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and a network meta-analysis to compare the efficacy, safety, and acceptability of pimavanserin, quetiapine, olanzapine, clozapine, ziprasidone, and risperidone...

Many factors outside of cardiovascular health can impact the structure of white matter. Identification of reliable and clinically meaningful biomarkers of the neural effects of systemic and cardiovascular health are needed to refine etiologic predictions. We examined whether the corpus callosum demonstrates regional vulnerability to systemic cardiovascular risk factors. Three hundred and ninety-four older adults without dementia completed brain MRI, neurobehavioral evaluations, and blood draws. A subset ( n = 126, n = 128) of individuals had blood plasma analyzed for inflammatory markers of interest (IL-6 and TNF-alpha)...

BACKGROUND: Via the Vienna Visuoconstructional Test 3.0 (VVT 3.0) delayed recall we combined the assessment of visuoconstructive abilities and memory and investigated the test's potential to support diagnostic processes, including staging and the elaboration of a cognitive profile. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed the data of 368 patients of the Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, between 04/2014 and 10/2020 that had performed the VVT 3.0...

BACKGROUND: Stigma often surrounds people with dementia when it comes to use of computer technology, although evidence does not always support this. More understanding is needed to investigate attitudes and experience in relation to computer technology use among those living with dementia and their readiness to use it to support self-management. METHODS: An online self-report questionnaire was completed by adults living with a dementia diagnosis and those living with them...

INTRODUCTION: Older adults have one of the highest age-specific suicide rates in France, and the risk of suicide is higher for those living in nursing homes. The aim of our study was to assess the effectiveness of gatekeeper training for nursing home staff on the knowledge and stigmas towards suicidal crisis and the impact on suicidal behaviour rates. METHOD: A total of 427 nursing or administrative staff from 110 nursing homes received gatekeeper training in the Hauts-de-France French region between September 2016 and June 2018...

OBJECTIVE: Geriatric patients account for a significant proportion of the collective treated by psychiatric consultation service in hospitals. In the Emergency Department (ED), psychotropic drugs are frequently recommended, notwithstanding their extensive side-effect profiles. This study sought to investigate medication safety of geriatric patients referred to psychiatric consultation service in the ED. METHODS: Medication lists of 60 patients from the general internal medicine and trauma surgery EDs referred to psychiatric consultation service were analyzed...

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are highly prevalent and comorbid among older adult male veterans. Both PTSD and OSA are independently associated with cognitive deficits in older adults, but little research regarding the impact of comorbid PTSD and OSA among older adults exists. Purpose: The current study aimed to examine the independent and interactive effects of PTSD and OSA on cognitive functioning in older adult veterans. Study Sample: Older adult male veterans with ( n  = 106) and without PTSD ( n  = 69), ranging in age from 55 to 89 ( M  = 63...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of a multicomponent training (MT) physical exercise intervention in the cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and quality of life of older adults with major neurocognitive disorder (NCD). METHODS: Quasi-experimental controlled trial. Thirty-six individuals (25 female) were equally distributed to an exercise group (aged 74.33 ± 5.87 years) or a control group (aged 81.83 ± 6.18 years). The Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - Cognitive (ADAS-Cog), the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and the Quality of Life - Alzheimer's Disease (QoL-AD) tests were performed before and after the intervention...