Conduct disorders

Aim: To document the behavioural and psychological symptoms in patients with a diagnosis of established Alzheimer's disease (AD) for at least 3 years.

Considerable suffering is experienced by carers of patients with dementia. Most existing studies do not consider the coexistence of subjective and objective aspects that cause, interacting to each other, this suffering. The authors: (1) define the high-risk group of caregivers on the bases of the scores obtained on the four scales evaluating burden, distress, depression and anxiety (BDDA) taken into account simultaneously and (2) evaluate risk factors related to the high level of BDDA. 419 elderly outpatients with dementia and their caregivers were enrolled.

Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common and problematic in clinical practice and represent a significant part of the day-to-day workload of the old age psychiatry team in hospital, institution and community settings. Improving recognition and management of BPSD can have a positive impact on the quality of life of patients and their carers and potentially delay the transition from home to institutional care.

Background: The neuropsychiatric complications of Parkinson's disease (PD), which include behaviour disturbances such as apathy and the impulse control disorders (ICDs), may have a significant effect on patients with PD and their carers. The contribution of these behaviour disorders to carer burden is less understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the relationship that apathy and ICDs have with carer burden.