Advertisement
Research report| Volume 33, ISSUE 4, P255-260, February 15, 1993

Severe cognitive impairment in elderly schizophrenic patients: A clinicopathological study

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3223(93)90291-K
Severe cognitive impairment in elderly schizophrenic patients: A clinicopathological study
Previous Article5-HT1A agonists disrupt memory of fear conditioning in mice
Next ArticleA clinical test of noradrenergic involvement in the therapeutic mode of action of an experimental antidepressant
      This paper is only available as a PDF. To read, Please Download here.

      Abstract

      The severe cognitive impairment that affects many of the elderly schizophrenic patients could represent the outcome of schizophrenia in old age for the very severe and chronically ill patients or may be the result of lengthy institutionalization and somatic treatment. Alternatively, it could be due to the presence of concurrent dementing disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) or multi-infarct dementia. Using an identical neuropathological protocol, brain specimens from schizophrenic patients who showed evidence of severe cognitive impairment were compared with 12 age-matched control cases and the same number of age-matched cases of neuropathologically confirmed patients with AD. Despite their relatively advanced age (mean age 77.1 years ± 2.8), none of the schizophrenia cases showed sufficient degree of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangle formations to confirm a diagnosis of AD. Other neurodegenerative disorders associated with dementia were also not identified. These studies suggest that alternative explanations need to be sought for the severe cognitive impairment commonly encountered in elderly schizophrenic patients.

      Keywords

      To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

      Purchase one-time access:

      Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online access
      One-time access price info
      • For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
      • For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

      Subscribe:

      Subscribe to Biological Psychiatry
      Already a print subscriber? Claim online access
      Already an online subscriber? Sign in
      Register: Create an account
      Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

      References

        • Buhrich N.
        • Crow T.J.
        • Johnstone E.C.
        • Owens D.G.C.
        Age disorientation in chronic schizophrenia is not associated with premorbid intellectual impairment or past physical treatment.
        Br J Psychiatry. 1988; 152: 466-469
        • Burton C.J.
        • Crow T.J.
        • Frith C.D.
        • et al.
        Schizophrenia and the brain: a prospective clinico-neuropathological study.
        Psychol Med. 1990; 20: 285-309
        • El-Mallakh R.S.
        • Kirch D.G.
        • Shelton R.
        • et al.
        The nucleus basalis of Meynert, senile plaques and intellectual impairment in schizophrenia.
        J Neuropsychiatry. 1991; 3: 383-386
        • Harrow M.
        • Marengo J.
        • Pogue-Geile M.
        • Pawelski T.J.
        Schizophrenia and Aging: Schizophrenia, Paranoia, and Schizophreniform Disorders Later in Life.
        Guilford Press, New York1987
        • Harvey P.D.
        • Davidson M.
        • Powchik P.
        • Parrella M.
        • White L.
        • Mohs R.
        Assessment of dementia in elderly schizophrenics and aging.
        Schizophr Res. 1992; 7: 85-90
        • Heaton R.K.
        • Drexler M.
        Clinical neuropsychological findings in schizophrenia and aging.
        in: Miller N.E. Cohen G.D. Schizophrenia and Aging. Guilford Press, New York1987
        • Hughes C.P.
        • Berg L.
        • Danzier W.L.
        • et al.
        A new clinical scale for staging of dementia.
        Br J Psychiatry. 1982; 140: 566-572
        • Johnstone E.C.
        • Owens D.G.C.
        • Gold A.
        • Crow T.J.
        • Macmillan J.F.
        Institutionalization and the defects of schizophrenia.
        Br J Psychiatry. 1981; 139: 195-203
        • Khachaturian Z.S.
        Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.
        Arch Neurol. 1985; 42: 1097-1105
        • Kirkpatrick B.
        • Golden R.N.
        • Fletcher R.H.
        Is there a dementia of schizophrenia.
        Psychol Med. 1987; 4: 253-263
        • Kraepelin E.
        Dementia Praecox and Paraphrenia.
        R.E. Krieger, New York1919
        • Schulz S.C.
        • Condley R.R.
        • Kahn E.M.
        • Alexander J.
        Nonresponders to neuroleptics: a distinct subtype.
        in: Schulz S.C. Tamminga C.A. Schizophrenia: Scientific Progress. Oxford Univ Press, Oxford1989: 341-350
        • Tamlyn A.
        • McKenna P.J.
        • Mortimer A.M.
        • Lund C.E.
        • Hammond S.
        • Baddeley A.D.
        Memory impairment in schizophrenia: its extent, affiliations and neuropsychological character.
        Psychol Med. 1992; 22: 1-15
        • Wing J.K.
        • Brown J.
        Institutionalism and Schizophrenia.
        Cambridge Univ Press, London1970

      Article info

      Publication history

      Received in revised form: November 1, 1992
      Received: September 6, 1992

      Footnotes

      ☆This work was supported by NIMH/MH grants 46436 and 45212 to Drs. Davidson and Davis.

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3223(93)90291-K

      Copyright

      © 1993 Published by Elsevier Inc.

      ScienceDirect

      Access this article on ScienceDirect

      The content on this site is intended for healthcare professionals.


      We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. To update your cookie settings, please visit the Cookie Preference Center for this site.
      Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. except certain content provided by third parties.


      RELX