Recent work has documented the existence of the syndrome of
pseudodementia. The authors present four cases of depressive
pseudodementia, two without associated dementing illnesses and two that
occurred in the context of dementing illnesses. These cases emphasize the
difficult nature of differential diagnosis and the profound cognitive
impairment that can occur in depressive illness. They also document the
coexistence of pseudodementia with "true" dementia. The authors discuss
diagnostic and management issues for clinicians treating patients with
pseudodementia and depressive illness.
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