Kaplan + Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, 11e

713

21.3 Dementia (Major Neurocognitive Disorder)

Table 21.3-5 DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for Major Neurocognitive Disorder (Dementia)

A. Evidence of significant cognitive decline from a previous level of performance in one or more cognitive domains (complex attention, executive function, learning and memory, language, perceptual-motor, or social cognition) based on: 1. Concern of the individual, a knowledgeable informant, or the clinician that there has been a significant decline in cognitive function; and 2. A substantial impairment in cognitive performance, preferably documented by standardized neuropsychological testing or, in its absence, another quantified clinical assessment. B. The cognitive deficits interfere with independence in everyday activities (i.e., at a minimum, requiring assistance with complex instrumental activities of daily living such as paying bills or managing medications). C. The cognitive deficits do not occur exclusively in the context of a delirium. D. The cognitive deficits are not better explained by another mental disorder (e.g., major depressive disorder, schizophrenia). Specify whether due to: Alzheimer’s disease Frontotemporal lobar degeneration Lewy body disease Vascular disease Traumatic brain injury Substance/medication use Parkinson’s disease Huntington’s disease Another medical condition Multiple etiologies Unspecified Coding note: Code based on medical or substance etiology. In some cases, there is a need for an additional code for the etiological medical condition, which must immediately precede the diagnostic code for major neurocognitive disorder. Specify: Without behavioral disturbance: If the cognitive disturbance is not accompanied by any clinically significant behavioral disturbance. With behavioral disturbance ( specify disturbance): If the cognitive disturbance is accompanied by a clinically significant behavioral disturbance (e.g., psychotic symptoms, mood disturbance, agitation, apathy, or other behavioral symptoms). Specify current severity: Mild: Difficulties with instrumental activities of daily living (e.g., housework, managing money). Moderate: Difficulties with basic activities of daily living (e.g., feeding, dressing). Severe: Fully dependent. HIV infection Prion disease

(Reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, (Copyright ©2013). American Psychiatric Association. All Rights Reserved.)

poral involvement are likely to have marked personality changes and may be irritable and explosive.

earliest learned information (e.g., a person’s place of birth) is retained. Inasmuch as memory is important for orientation to person, place, and time, orientation can be progressively affected dur- ing the course of a dementing illness. For example, patients with dementia may forget how to get back to their rooms after going to the bathroom. No matter how severe the disorientation seems, however, patients show no impairment in their level of consciousness. Dementing processes that affect the cortex, primarily demen- tia of the Alzheimer’s type and vascular dementia, can affect patients’ language abilities. Psychiatric and Neurological Changes Personality.  Changes in the personality of a person with dementia are especially disturbing for their families. Preexist- ing personality traits may be accentuated during the develop- ment of a dementia. Patients with dementia may also become introverted and seem to be less concerned than they previously were about the effects of their behavior on others. Persons with dementia who have paranoid delusions are generally hostile to family members and caretakers. Patients with frontal and tem-

Hallucinations and Delusions.  An estimated 20 to 30 percent of patients with dementia (primarily patients with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type) have hallucinations, and 30 to 40 percent have delusions, primarily of a paranoid or persecutory and unsystematized nature, although complex, sustained, and well-systematized delusions are also reported by these patients. Physical aggression and other forms of violence are common in demented patients who also have psychotic symptoms. Mood.  In addition to psychosis and personality changes, depression and anxiety are major symptoms in an estimated 40 to 50 percent of patients with dementia, although the full syndrome of depressive disorder may be present in only 10 to 20 percent. Patients with dementia also may exhibit pathologi- cal laughter or crying—that is, extremes of emotions—with no apparent provocation. Cognitive Change.  In addition to the aphasias in patients with dementia, apraxias and agnosias are common. Other neurological