Bedside differentiation of depressive pseudodementia from dementia.

The authors analyzed the pretreatment clinical presentations of 14 patients with depressive pseudodementia and 28 patients with primary degenerative dementia as measured by the Mini-Mental State, the Blessed Dementia Rating Scale, and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. They found that patients with pseudodementia showed significantly greater pretreatment early morning awakening, higher ratings of psychological anxiety, and more severe impairment of libido. Patients with dementia, however, showed significantly more disorientation to time, greater difficulty finding their way about familiar streets or indoors, and more impairment with dressing. The authors suggest that these findings be considered preliminary.