Relationship between apathy and depression

 
   Lead Investigator:    Carolyn Zhu
   Institution      :    Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai and JJP VAMC
   E-Mail           :    carolyn.zhu@mssm.edu
   Proposal ID      :    698


   Publications:


1  Grossman H, Zhu C, Sano M
   Role of Apathy in Functional Decline in Alzheimer's Disease
   2016   Abstract  International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) International Congress, San Francisco, California , 

   ACCEPTED





   Proposal Description:
   This study derives from observations in our clinics regarding apathy, noting      that it is common, disabling, and of great concern to families. We have also      noted that it is independent of depressive symptoms, i.e., it seems to have its   own syndrome ???life??? and course. This contravenes the common clinical lore     ??? that apathy is a component of the depression syndrome. In addition, the       notion that apathy may be a ???frontal??? syndrome also seems contradicted by     our observation of its high prevalence in typical Alzheimer???s.                  The purpose of this study is to examine features of apathy in depression using    existing data from the National Alzheimer???s Coordinating Center (NACC). All     diagnosis groups, including cognitively normal individuals, will be included.     We hypothesize that apathy is associated with dementia, function, and disease     severity but not with dementia subtype or depression.  We propose to use          clinician judgment of symptoms as identifiers of apathy and depression. We also   will use the NPI as a self reported, observer-verified measure of apathy and      depression.