Dementia in elderly schizophrenic patients: Reviewing the reviews

Yoram Barak, Marnina Swartz, Michael Davidson*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cognitive deficits are common in schizophrenic patients and in geriatric schizophrenic patients more than half meet the criteria for dementia. The 'dementia ' observed in elderly schizophrenic patients could be an outcome variable, but may be the result of institutionalization or accumulating drug treatment. In the last decade, more than 400 studies focused on the issue of dementia in elderly schizophrenics. Evidence from emerging data underlines the presence of severe cognitive impairments and its functional consequences. It may be tentatively concluded that deficits in vigilance and secondary verbal memory hinder instrumental role functioning in a manner similar to that encountered in demented subjects. However, pathological and biochemical markers of dementia are not conclusively demonstrated in elderly schizophrenics. The role of neuroleptics in the formation of neurofibrillary pathology and the effects of cognition enhancing drugs in schizophrenia need to be elicited in the coming years.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)459-463
Number of pages5
JournalInternational Review of Psychiatry
Volume9
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1997
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Dementia in elderly schizophrenic patients: Reviewing the reviews'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this