Neuropsychiatric and Cognitive Symptoms: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Article type: Article Commentary

Authors: Siafarikas, Nikias^{; *}

Affiliations: Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Nikias Siafarikas, Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway. E-mail: nikias.siafarikas@googlemail.com.

Abstract: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are increasingly being recognized as clinical markers for incipient dementia in Alzheimer’s disease (AD dementia). NPS may reinforce cognitive impairment or decline and vice versa. Although NPS are frequent already in mild cognitive impairment, their mechanisms are poorly understood. It is unclear if they share biological mechanisms with cognitive symptoms and how they are associated to structural brain changes, but evidence suggests associations of NPS to cerebral atrophy. An additional NPS dimension in AD dementia concepts might add valuable information to detect patients at risk for AD dementia.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral atrophy, dementia, mild cognitive impairment, neuroimaging, neuropsychiatric symptoms

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-231418

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 98, no. 1, pp. 75-78, 2024