Apathy

People with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia were more likely to exhibit apathy and functional decline, even in the mildest stage of dementia, compared with patients with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers recently reported.

Drugs that target the noradrenergic system may improve cognition and apathy in patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment caused by Alzheimer’s disease but have little effect on attention or episodic memory, researchers reported.

Methylphenidate safely and effectively treated apathy in Alzheimer’s disease, according to results of a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial published in JAMA Neurology.

Severe cerebral small vessel disease, a common cause of vascular dementia, may be linked to apathy, fatigue and delirium, according to results of a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Lancet Psychiatry.