Performance of chronic schizophrenic patients on cognitive neuropsychological measures sensitive to dementia
P.D. Harvey
Bok Engelsk 1996
| Utgitt | 1996
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| Omfang | Side 621- 627
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| Opplysninger | Although many chronic schizophrenic patients manifest substantialglobal cognitive impairment, it is not clear as to whether thisimpairment should be characterized as dementia. Since manydegenerative dementias have a characteristic signature of cognitiveimpairment and a specific pattern of cognitive decline, examinationof schizophrenic patients on these measures can provide informationabout the qualitative similarity of their cognitive impairment tothese other conditions. Three hundred and two chronicallyhospitalized schizophrenic patients ranging in age from 26 to 98 wereexamined with the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer'sDisease (CERAD) neuropsychological battery, as well as a more globalmeasure of cognitive impairment, the Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE). This assessment was repeated twice, with a 1-year follow-upinterval. The CERAD battery measures the prototypical cognitivedeficits of Alzheimer's disease, including word list learning anddelayed recall, naming and praxis. In contrast to Alzheimer'sdisease, all aspects of cognitive impairment were linearly associatedwith MMSE scores and there were no qualitatively different patternsof deficits associated with MMSE scores in different ranges ofseverity. There was no change in performance on any measure acrossthe follow-up period, regardless of the MMSE scores of the patientsat baseline. These data suggest that the specific patterns of deficitin chronic schizophrenic patients with severe cognitive deficitsdiffer from Alzheimer's disease in both course and profile ofimpairment.
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