Agitation-Type Behavior Occurs Across the Spectrum of Alzheimer Disease Severity, Advises Expert

Neuropsychiatric behaviors, and particularly symptoms of agitation, are seen among among individuals with even mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer disease (AD), the earliest stage and a period in the arc of the dementia that isn't typically associated with behavioral symptoms. In a recent interview on AD, George Grossberg, MD, a geriatric psychiatrist and researcher active in looking for new therapies for neurocognitive disorders, told Patient Care that recognizing the disruptive behaviors in less severe stages reflects a still evolving understanding of the disease spectrum. Agitated-type behaviors "do become more common with disease progression, but we need to look for them throughout," Grossberg said.

In the short video above, Grossberg discusses the more traditional perspective on agitation in AD and why it is important to look beyond that.

George T Grossberg, MD, is the Samuel W. Fordyce professor and director of Geriatric Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He is a past president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and of the International Psychogeriatric Association. Grossberg's research focus includes behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer disease and novel therapies for neurocognitive disorders.