Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x24gv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-09T03:18:58.749Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Comparison of the Behavioural and Emotional Characteristics of Alzheimer's Dementia in Individuals with and without Down Syndrome*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Valerie Temple  and
M. Mary Konstantareas
Valerie Temple*
Affiliation:
Surrey Place Centre
M. Mary Konstantareas
Affiliation:
University of Guelph
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être addressées à : Valerie Temple, Ph.D., Surrey Place Centre, 2 Surrey Place, Toronto, ON M5S 2C2. (valerie.temple@surreyplace.on.ca)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The behavioural and emotional changes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are compared for individuals with Down syndrome and AD and individuals with AD from the general population (AD-only). The primary caregivers of 30 people with Down syndrome and AD and 30 people with AD-only completed the BEHAVE-AD and the Apathy subscale of the CERAD. As well, behavioural observations at adult day programs were undertaken with selected participants (n = 26). The Down syndrome group experienced fewer delusions and had lower total scores on the BEHAVE-AD, indicating fewer problem behaviours overall. Day program observations suggested that the AD-only group were more likely to be sedentary and observe the activities of others, while the Down syndrome group were more physically active. Improving our understanding of the similarities and differences between these two groups may help facilitate the integration of individuals with Down syndrome into adult day programs for the general population.

Résumé

Les changements émotifs et comportementaux liés à la maladie d'Alzheimer (MA) sont comparés selon s'il s'agit de personnes atteintes de trisomie 21 et de la MA ou de personnes atteintes de la MA dans la population en général (MA seulement). Les principaux soignants de 30 personnes atteintes de trisomie 21 et de la MA ainsi que de 30 personnes souffrant uniquement de la MA ont utilisé le test BEHAVE-AD ainsi que la sous-échelle de l'apathie élaborée par le CERAD. En outre, une observation du comportement de certains participants sélectionnés (n = 26) a été entreprise dans des programmes de centres de jour. Le groupe atteint de trisomie 21 a éprouvé moins d'illusions sensorielles et a obtenu un score total moins élevé sur l'échelle BEHAVE-AD, ce qui révèle qu'ils avaient, dans l'ensemble, moins de problèmes de comportement. Les observations menées pendant le programme des centres de jour semblent révéler que les membres du groupe atteint uniquement de la MA avaient davantage tendance à être sédentaires et à observer les activités des autres, tandis que le groupe de personnes atteintes de trisomie 21 était plus actifs physiquement. En améliorant notre compréhension des similitudes et des différences entre ces deux groupes, nous pourrions contribuer à faciliter l'intégration des personnes atteintes de trisomie 21 dans les programmes des centres de jour destinés aux adultes de la population en général.

Keywords

Alzheimer's diseasemaladaptive behaviourDown syndromeagingmaladie d'Alzheimercomportement mésadaptétrisomie 21
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , Summer/Été 2005 , pp. 179 - 189
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2005

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.)

Footnotes

*

This research project was supported by a Doctoral Training Award from the Alzheimer Society of Canada and a research grant from the Surrey Place Centre Foundation.

References

Aylward, E.H., Burt, D.B., Thorpe, L.U., Lai, F., & Dalton, A.J. (1997). Diagnosis of dementia in individuals with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 41, 152–164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bassiony, M.M., Steinberg, M.S., Warren, A., Rosenblatt, A., Baker, A.S. & Lyketsos, C.G. (2000). Delusions and hallucinations in Alzheimer's disease: Prevalence and clinical correlates. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 15, 99–107.3.0.CO;2-5>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beange, H.P. (1996). Caring for a vulnerable population. Medical Journal of Australia, 164, 159–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blessed, G., Tomlinson, B.E., & Roth, M. (1968). The association between quantitative measures of dementia and of senile change in the cerebral grey matter of elderly subjects. British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 797–811.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bozzola, F., Gorelick, P., & Freels, S. (1992). Personality changes in Alzheimer's disease. Archives of Neurology, 49, 297–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clarke, D. (2001). Functional psychosis in people with mental retardation. In Bouras, N. (Ed.), Psychiatric and behavioural disorders in developmental disabilities and mental retardation (pp. 188–199). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cohen-Mansfield, J., & Taylor, L. (1998). Assessing and understanding agitated behavior in older adults. In Kaplan, M. & Hoffman, S. (Eds.), Behaviors in dementia (pp. 25–44). Baltimore: Health Professionals Press.Google Scholar
Cooper, J, K., Mungas, D., & Weiler, P. (1990). Relation of cognitive status and abnormal behaviors in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 38, 867–870.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, S.A., & Prasher, V.P. (1998). Maladaptive behaviours and symptoms of dementia in adults with Down's syndrome compared with adults with intellectual disability of other aetiologies. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 42, 293–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cosgrave, M.P., Tyrrell, J., McCarron, M., Gill, M., & Lawlor, B.A. (1999). Dementia in people with Down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 43, 393–399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalton, A., & Crapper-McLachlan, D.R. (1986). Clinical expression of Alzheimer's disease in Down's syndrome. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 9, 659–670.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deutsch, L., & Rovner, B.W. (1991). Agitation and other noncognitive abnormalities in Alzheimer's disease. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 14, 341–351.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duggan, L., Lewis, M., & Morgan, J. (1996). Behavioural changes in people with learning disability and dementia: A descriptive study. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 40, 311–321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eisdorfer, C., Cohen, D., Paveza, G., Ashford, J., Luchins, D., Gorelick, P., Hirschman, R., Freels, S., Levy, P., Semla, T., & Shaw, H. (1992). An empirical evaluation of the Global Deterioration Scale for staging Alzheimer's disease. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 190–194.Google ScholarPubMed
Folstein, M.F., Folstein, S.E., & McHugh, P.R. (1975). Mini-Mental State Exam: A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frolich, L., Berger, F., Sramko, C., & Calabrese, P. (2000, July) Effects of donepezil on behavior and activities of daily living in clinical practice. Paper presented at the World Alzheimer Conference, Washington, D.C.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haley, W.E., Brown, S.L., & Levine, E.G. (1987). Family caregiver appraisal of patient behavioral disturbances in senile dementia. Aging and Human Development, 25, 25–33.Google Scholar
Hamel, M., Pushkar, D., Andres, D., Reis, M., Dastoor, D., Grauer, H., & Bergman, H. (1990). Predictors and consequences of aggressive behaviour by community-based dementia patients. Gerontologist, 30, 206–211.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holland, A.J. (1994). Down's syndrome and dementia of the Alzheimer's type. In Burns, A. & Levy, R. (Eds.), Dementia (pp. 695–706). London: Chapman & Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holland, A.J., Hon, J., Huppert, F.A., & Stevens, F. (2000). Incidence and course of dementia in people with Down's syndrome: Findings from a population-based study. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 44, 138–146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lott, I.T., Osann, K., Doran, E., & Nelson, L. (2002). Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease: Response to donepezil. Archives of Neurology, 59, 1133–1136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mann, D.M.A. (1988). Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome. Histopathology, 13, 125–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mega, M., Cummings, J.L., Fiorello, T., & Gornbein, J. (1996). The spectrum of behavioural changes in Alzheimer's disease. Neurology, 46, 130–135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prasher, V.P., Huxley, A., Haque, M.S., and the Down Syndrome and Ageing Study Group. (2002). A 24-week double-blind placebo-controlled trial of donepezil in patients with Down syndrome and Alzheimer disease: Pilot study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17, 210–278.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prasher, V.P. (1997). Psychotic features and effect of severity of learning disability on dementia in adults with Down syndrome: Review of literature. British Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 43, 85–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prasher, V.P., & Filer, A. (1995). Behavioural disturbance in people with Down syndrome and dementia. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 39, 432–436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reisberg, B., Borenstein, J., Salob, S., & Ferris, S. (1987). Behavioural symptoms in Alzheimer's disease: Phenomenology and treatment. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 48(Suppl.), 9–15.Google ScholarPubMed
Reisberg, B., Auer, S.R., & Monteiro, I. (1996). Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer Disease (BEHAVE-AD) Rating scale. International Psychogeriatrics, 8(Suppl. 2), 301–308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sabat, S.R. (1994). Excess disability and malignant social psychology: A case study of Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 4, 157–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabat, S.R., & Harré, R. (1995). The Alzheimer's disease sufferer as a semiotic subject. Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology, 1, 145–160.Google Scholar
Sparks, B., Temple, V.K., Springer, M., & Stoddard, K. (2000). Service provision to older adults with developmental disabilities: A survey of service providers. Canadian Journal on Aging, 19, 210–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tariot, P.N., Mack, J., Patterson, M., Edland, S., Weiner, M., Fillenbaum, G., Blazina, L., Teri, L., Rubin, E., and the Behavioural Pathology Committee of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease. (1995). American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 1349–1357.Google Scholar
Teri, L., Rabins, P., Whitehouse, P., Berg, L., Reisberg, B., Sunderland, T., Eichelman, B., & Phelphs, C. (1992). Management of behavioral disturbance in Alzheimer disease: Current knowledge and future directions. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 6, 77–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zigman, W., Schupf, N., Zigman, A., & Silverman, W. (1993). Aging and Alzheimer disease in people with mental retardation. International Review of Research in Mental Retardation, 19, 41–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar