Measuring apathy in Alzheimer's disease in the Apathy in Dementia Methylphenidate Trial 2 (ADMET 2): a comparison of instruments

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has an estimated prevalence of 50 million persons worldwide1 and an incidence of 10 million cases per year1-3, making it the most common form of dementia. While neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in AD, apathy is particularly frequent, affecting up to 70% of patients4. Apathy has been broadly defined as a loss of interest in daily activities and diminished goal directed behavior in the absence of depression and other mood changes5 –7 . This NPS is associated with greater functional impairment, greater caregiver burden, increased risk of institutionalization, poorer quality of life, and higher costs of care8-15.

Source: The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry - May 26, 2020 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Krista L. Lanct ôt, Roberta W. Scherer, Abby Li, Danielle Vieira, Hamadou Coulibaly, Paul B. Rosenberg, Nathan Herrmann, Alan J Lerner, Prasad R Padala, Olga Brawman-Mintzer, Chris H. van Dyck, Anton P. Porsteinsson, Suzanne Craft, Allan Levey, William J Tags: Regular Research Article Source Type: research