The course of Alzheimer's disease can be complicated by depressive
illness, often presenting enigmatically. To determine whether the
dexamethasone suppression test (DST) can help distinguish patients with
coexisting dementia and depression from those with dementia alone, DSTs
were conducted with 22 nondepressed Alzheimer's disease patients. Eleven
patients were nonsuppressors. The nonsuppressors were older than the
suppressors but did not differ in depression or dementia ratings. The 8:00
a.m. postdexamethasone cortisol level correlated with depressive symptoms.
A relationship between severity of dementia and depressive symptoms was
also demonstrated.Abstract Teaser