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Frequency of dementia syndromes with a potentially treatable cause in geriatric in-patients: analysis of a 1-year interval

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Abstract

In addition to neurodegenerative and vascular causes of dementia, in the differential diagnosis potentially reversible conditions of dementia also must be assessed. Routine laboratory parameters and neuroimaging, which are recommended for the differential diagnosis of suspected dementia by the German S3 Guideline “Dementia”, were retrospectively studied in 166 geriatric patients with suspected dementia. Delirium was diagnosed in six patients (3.6 %). These six patients were excluded from the study. Of the 160 remaining patients, there were 99 (59.6 %) with an already known dementia. In this subgroup of patients, we found a potentially treatable cause of dementia in 18.2 %. In the remaining 61 patients (36.8 %), the newly diagnosed dementia syndrome was established according to ICD-10 criteria. Potentially reversible causes of the dementia syndrome were found in 19 of these patients (31.1 %). The most common cause was depressive pseudodementia in eight patients followed by vitamin B12 deficiency in six patients. A significant amount of our patients showed laboratory or imaging changes suggestive of potentially reversible causes of the dementia syndrome upon admission. The results of our study indicate the importance of careful differential diagnosis of dementia based on the recommendations of guidelines. Although therapy of these potential causes is not always accompanied by a full recovery, the identification and therapy of treatable causes of cognitive deficits are possible even for general practitioners, who often are the primary contact persons of affected individuals.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant of the Robert Bosch Foundation to M. Djukic and by Sparkasse Göttingen.

Conflict of interests

The authors have no commercial interests related to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropathology, University Medicine Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Marija Djukic, Almuth Franz & Roland Nau

  2. Department of Geriatrics, Evangelisches Krankenhaus Göttingen-Weende, An der Lutter 24, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Marija Djukic, Melanie Gremke & Roland Nau

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University Medicine Göttingen, Von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Dirk Wedekind

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  1. Marija Djukic
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Correspondence to Marija Djukic.

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Djukic, M., Wedekind, D., Franz, A. et al. Frequency of dementia syndromes with a potentially treatable cause in geriatric in-patients: analysis of a 1-year interval. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 265, 429–438 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-015-0583-3

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