Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec 13;8(1):e12335.
doi: 10.1002/trc2.12335. eCollection 2022.

Models of depressive pseudoamnestic disorder

Jongwoo Choi  1 , Seonjoo Lee  1   2   3 , Jeffrey N Motter  4 , Hyun Kim  4 , Howard Andrews  2   3 , P Murali Doraiswamy  5 , D P Devanand  4 , Terry E Goldberg  3   4   6
Affiliations

Models of depressive pseudoamnestic disorder

Jongwoo Choi et al. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). .

Abstract

Objective: Little effort has been made in the past to validate depressive pseudodementia based on hypothesis-driven approaches. We extended this concept to individuals with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Major Depression, that is, pseudodepressive amnestic disorder. We tested two hypotheses consistent with the presentations and mechanisms associated with this potential syndrome: improvements in cognition would be significantly correlated with improvements in depression after treatment (Hypothesis 1), and if not confirmed, the presence of such an association could be identified once moderator variables were taken into account (Hypothesis 2).

Methods: Within a clinical trial, 61 individuals received open label serotonin reuptake inhibitor (citalopram or venlafaxine) treatment over a 16-week period. Selective Reminding Test and Hamilton Depression scale were conducted serially to measure change in memory and depression, respectively. Magnetic resonance imaging, other cognitive measures (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive and speed of processing tests), and additional depression measure (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]) were also administered.

Results: No significant associations between improvement in depression and improvement in cognition were observed. Sensitivity analyses with other cognitive measures, the BDI, and exclusion of possible "placebo" responders were negative as well. There were no significant moderation effects for baseline Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression as a measure of symptom severity or age. APOE ε4 genotype and white matter hyperintensity burden yielded counter-intuitive, albeit marginally significant results.

Conclusions: Negative findings cast doubt on the frequency of depressive pseudoamnestic disorder in older populations with documented depression and memory impairments.

Keywords: Clinical trial; depression; memory; mild cognitive impairment; pseudodementia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

P. Murali Doraiswamy has received research grants (through Duke University) and advisory/board/speaking fees from several companies; P. Murali Doraiswamy owns shares in several companies and is a co‐inventor on patents relating to dementia which are not discussed here. Davangere P. Devanand is Scientific Adviser to Acadia, Eisai, Genentech, and Sunovion, and is on the Data and Safety Monitoring Board for Green Valley. All other authors declare no conflicts or disclosures. Author disclosures are available in the supporting information.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM‐D) change over time
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
(A) Correlation between change in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM‐D) and change in Selective Reminding Test (SRT) Total Recall (unadjusted). (B) Correlation between change in HAM‐D and change in Mini‐Mental State Exam (MMSE; unadjusted). (C) Correlation between change in HAM‐D and change in Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive (ADAS‐Cog; unadjusted). Note that all correlations were non‐significant
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Snowdon J, Kiloh L. Pseudodementia, a term for its time: the impact of Leslie Kiloh's 1961 paper. Australas Psychiatry. 2011;19:391‐397. - PubMed
    1. Brodaty H, Connors MH. Pseudodementia, pseudo‐pseudodementia, and pseudodepression. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2020;12:e12027. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lyketsos CG, Olin J. Depression in Alzheimer's disease: overview and treatment. Biol Psychiatry. 2002;52:243‐252. - PubMed
    1. Rutherford BR, Taylor WD, Brown PJ, et al. Biological aging and the future of geriatric psychiatry. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2017;72:343‐352. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Starkstein SE, Ingram L, Garau ML, et al. On the overlap between apathy and depression in dementia. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2005;76:1070‐1074. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources