Neuropsychiatric symptoms are present in more than 90% of individuals with dementia. These have an enormous impact on the quality of life of both the patient and their caregivers. Panos Alexopoulos, MD, PhD, MA, University of Patras, Patras, Greece & Global Brain Health Institute, Dublin, Ireland, explains the value of assessing depressive symptomatology in a dementia workup, using tools like the Geriatric Depression Scale. Work from Dr Alexopoulos and his team has shown that a machine learning algorithm based on depressive symptom assessment can accurately differentiate between those with cognitive decline and those without, with a high specificity but relatively low sensitivity. Tools such as these could provide a solid basis for clinicians to further establish a diagnosis. This interview took place at the AD/PD™ 2023 congress in Gothenburg, Sweden.
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