1.
Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd
; 161: D1903, 2017.
Artigo
em Holandês
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28914218
RESUMO
Two independent, home-dwelling geriatric patients presented with apathy at a general practice in the Netherlands and were seen by an elderly care physician after (non-)medical interventions had failed. Both patients were treated with low-dose methylphenidate. During treatment, apathy symptoms decreased and the patients became more active. Apathy is a frequent symptom of several neuropsychiatric diseases, depression and somatic conditions. Its incidence varies from 1.3% in healthy elderly people to more than 50% in the elderly with depression or dementia. In this clinical lesson we present these two cases and discuss considerations for treatment of apathy with methylphenidate.