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Review Article

Psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer disease: evidence for a distinct phenotype

Molecular Psychiatry volume 8, pages 383–392 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Though efforts to identify the genetic etiology of Alzheimer disease (AD) have made substantial progress, to date only some of the genes contributing to AD risk have been identified. Utilization of more etiologically homogeneous subphenotypes represents one strategy to facilitate the identification of novel risk genes in complex disorders. In this review, we evaluate the hypothesis that psychotic symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, define a suitable subphenotype in AD patients for gene-mapping efforts. Psychotic symptoms occur in 40–60% of patients with AD and are associated with more severe cognitive deficits and a more rapidly deteriorating course. The presence of psychotic symptoms in AD confers increased risk of similar symptoms to affected siblings. Candidate gene association analyses and initial linkage analysis have yielded significant results. We discuss possible genetic models of psychotic symptoms in AD, and suggest strategies for further investigation. Identification of such genetic factors may facilitate gene-mapping studies for both AD and idiopathic psychoses.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by Research Grant AG05133 from the National Institute of Aging, by NIMH grants MH-43693, MH-49671, MH-59101, and by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Traci Thrower in the preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    R A Sweet, V L Nimgaonkar & B Devlin

  2. Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, USA

    D V Jeste

  3. VA San Diego Healthcare System, USA

    D V Jeste

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  1. R A Sweet
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  2. V L Nimgaonkar
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  3. B Devlin
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  4. D V Jeste
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Correspondence to R A Sweet.

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Sweet, R., Nimgaonkar, V., Devlin, B. et al. Psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer disease: evidence for a distinct phenotype. Mol Psychiatry 8, 383–392 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4001262

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Keywords

  • Alzheimer disease
  • psychosis
  • linkage

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