Clinical analysis of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with vascular dementia

Objective To analyze neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with vascular dementia (VaD). Methods Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Mini ⁃ Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Hachinski Ischemia Score (HIS) were used to assess the neuropsychiatric symptoms in 81 cases with VaD, 35 cases with post⁃stroke non⁃dementia (PS⁃ND), 58 cases with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 61 cases with normal elders as control group. Results Presentation of delusion, hallucination, agitation, depression and (or) dysthymia, apathy, irritability and (or) lability, aberrant action behavior, and NPI total scores in VaD group were significantly more than those in control group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Delusion was more often seen in AD group than that in VaD group, and the difference was significant (P < 0.01). Hallucination, anxiety, apathy, irritability and (or) lability, and aberrant action behavior were significantly different among VaD with different severity (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). These symptoms were all more obvious along with the patients' condition. Conclusion Various neuropsychiatric symptoms in VaD are similar to those in AD. The predominant neuropsychiatric symptoms are emotional and affective disturbance in patients with moderate and severe VaD. DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2010.03.01