Roosy Aulakh¹* and Harbir Sekhon²

¹Professor in Department of Pediatrics at Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India
²Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Specialist in Clearwater, Florida

*Corresponding Author: Roosy Aulakh, Professor in Department of Pediatrics at Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India.

Received: October 4, 2021; Published: May 26, 2022

Abstract

The term “pseudodementia” has attracted much controversy. Some neurologists are of the opinion that no such condition exists, while others seem to disagree. There is evidence that older patients suffering from depression may be at risk for subsequent dementia. Some studies have indicated that “pseudodementia” may well lead to an irreversible dementia. The present case illustrates a different and more favorable outcome. An elderly man with major depressive disorder, single episode, was misdiagnosed with dementia and subsequently Parkinson’s disease due to symptoms of significant cognitive impairment and classical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. These diagnoses were made due to limited or no response to inadequate antidepressant treatment, memory enhancing agents and side effects induced by standard treatment for Parkinson’s disease. After discontinuation of all prior medications, which included L-dopa, amantadine, ropinirole, donepezil, memantine, paliperidone, sertraline, a trial of high-dose selegiline at 60 mg per day produced substantial improvement with complete resolution of cognitive impairment and disappearance of signs of “Parkinson’s disease”. Clinicians should rely on careful history taking, physical and mental status examination and response to previous treatments before making a tentative diagnosis of “dementia”, “Parkinson’s disease” or “pseudodementia”. The outcome, as this case illustrates is markedly affected, sometimes to the detriment of the patient.

Keywords: Dementia; Parkinson’s Disease; Major Depressive Disorder; Pseudodementia; Selegiline

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Citation

Citation: Roosy Aulakh and Harbir Sekhon. “Diagnostic Dilemma of Pseudodementia: A Case Report”. Acta Scientific Paediatrics 5.6 (2022): 03-06.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Roosy Aulakh and Harbir Sekhon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.