ABSTRACT
Mood symptoms are very commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related disorders, and can range from subtle and mild to severe symptoms that are the major focus of treatment. Some of the mood symptoms seen in dementia are reactive to difficult life situations, such as the loss of independence (driving, for example). Early symptoms in AD are related to executive deficits, such as impairment in initiation and planning, which may appear as an apathy syndrome, often difficult to differentiate from the decrease in interest and pleasure of depression. Increasing difficulties with cognitive processing, deficits in the development of coping strategies and decreased tolerance to frustration may also give rise to increased mood lability.
