Delusion and Delirium in Neurodegenerative Disorders: An Overlooked Relationship?

Frontiers in Psychiatry

Marco Filardi¹  Giancarlo Logroscino¹  Daniele Urso³  Valentina Gnoni³ 

[1] Department of Basic Medicine, Neuroscience, and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy;Department of Clinical Research in Neurology, Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Aging Brain, Pia Fondazione Cardinale G. Panico, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy;Department of Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom;

关键词: delirium;    delusion;    neurodegeneration;    Alzheimer's disease;    Dementia with Lewy bodies;    frontotemporal dementia;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyt.2021.808724

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Delusions are part of the neuropsychiatric symptoms that patients suffering from neurodegenerative conditions frequently develop at some point of the disease course and are associated with an increased risk of cognitive and functional decline. Delirium is a syndrome characterized by acute onset of deficits in attention, awareness, and cognition that fluctuate in severity over a short time period. Delusions and delirium are frequently observed in the context of neurodegeneration, and their presence can easily mislead clinicians toward a misdiagnosis of psychiatric disorder further delaying the proper treatment. Risk factors for developing delusion and delirium in neurodegenerative conditions have been investigated separately while the possible interplay between these two conditions has not been explored so far. With this study, we aim to achieve a more comprehensive picture of the relationship between delusions and delirium in neurodegeneration by analyzing prevalence and subtypes of delusions in different neurodegenerative disorders; providing an overview of clinical tools to assess delusions in neurodegenerative patients and how delusions are covered by delirium assessment tools and discussing the possible common pathophysiology mechanisms between delusion and delirium in neurodegenerative patients. A more extensive characterization of the relationship between delusions and delirium may help to understand whether delusions may constitute a risk factor for delirium and may ameliorate the management of both conditions in patients with neurodegenerative disorders.

【 授权许可】

Unknown