Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xfwgj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-21T15:25:26.746Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Planting a misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in a person's mind

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

Harald Merckelbach ,
Marko Jelicic  and
Cees Jonker
Harald Merckelbach*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology and Neurosciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Marko Jelicic
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology and Neurosciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Cees Jonker
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry/Alzheimer Centre, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
*
Dr Harald Merckelbach, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Tel: 043 3881945; Fax: 043-3884196; E-mail: H.Merckelbach@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Objective: There is an extensive corpus of knowledge about how misinformation may distort autobiographical memories. A diagnostic error can be conceptualised as a form of misinformation.

Methods: The authors discuss the case of a 58-year-old woman who was given a misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Results: The patient was deeply convinced that the diagnosis was correct, even when she was confronted with contradictory evidence.

Conclusion: A diagnosis is not a neutral piece of information. It profoundly affects the lives of patients. The consequences of a misdiagnosis may be similar to persistent false memories.

Keywords

Alzheimer's diseasecognitionmemorystress
Type
Case Report
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 60 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Loftus, EF.Our changeable memories: legal and practical implications. Nat Rev Neurosci 2003;4:231–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Ost, J, Costall, A, Bull, R.A perfect symmetry? A study of retractors' experiences of making and then repudiating claims of early sexual abuse. Psychol Crime Law 2002;8:155–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Rietveld, S, Brosschot, JF.Current perspectives on symptom perception in asthma: a biomedical and psychological review. Int J Behav Med 1999;6:120–135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Jonker, C, Launer, LJ, Hooijer, C, Lindeboom, J.Memory complaints and memory impairment in older individuals. J Am Ger Soc 1996;44:44–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Wolf, SA, Henry, M, Deike, R, Ebert, AD, Wallesch, C-W.Verdachtsdiagnose Alzheimer-Demenz. Bei welchen Patienten erfolgt eine neuropsychologische Abklärung? [Suspected Alzheimer's disease. Selection of outpatients for neuropsychological assessment]. Nervenarzt 2008;79: 444–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.Folstein, MF, Folstein, SE, McHugh, PR.Mini-mental state: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiat Res 1975;12:189–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Hopman-Rock, M, Tak, ECPM, Staats, PGM.Development and validation of the observation list for early signs of dementia (OLD). Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2001;16:406–414.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Larner, AJ.Getting it wrong: the clinical misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Int J Clin Pract 2004;58:1092–1104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Merckelbach, H, Jelicic, M, Pieters, M.The residual effect of feigning: how intentional faking may evolve into a less conscious form of symptom reporting. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2011;33:131–139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Page, LA, Wessely, S.Medically unexplained symptoms: exacerbating factors in the doctor-patient encounter. J R Soc Med 2003;96:223–227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Suhr, JA, Gunstad, J.Diagnosis threat: the effects of negative expectations on cognitive performance in head injury. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2002;24:448–457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed