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Depression, Dementia, or Pseudodementia?
David L. Dünner. CNS Spectrums, 2005-11-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
A 79-year-old woman is referred by her primary care physician for an evaluation regarding a possible psychiatric diagnosis. Until now, she has had an unremarkable medical and psychiatric history. For the past 4 months, the family has observed increasing confusion. She has been repeating statements that she has just made, evidences increasing forgetfulness, such as misplacing her keys and checkbook, and, on one occasion, went to the grocery store but could not remember which items she needed to purchase. There has also been a history of insomnia, some irritability, and she becomes agitated over trivial issues related to household activities. She has had a reduction in appetite and has lost 5 pounds. Furthermore, she has complained of fatigue and a decrease in energy. Her husband indicated that she rarely drinks alcohol. She has not mentioned suicidal ideation directly but she has become increasingly concerned that her affairs are in order. Two of her friends died in the previous year and one was admitted to a nursing home.
Key findings
- Her husband indicated that she rarely drinks alcohol.
Why it matters
This case report describes a 79-year-old woman with four months of increasing confusion, forgetfulness, insomnia, irritability, reduced appetite and weight loss, referred for evaluation of a possible psychiatric diagnosis. It is a single case and does not provide evidence about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 29/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (CNS Spectrums) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | CNS Spectrums: journal h-index 117 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2005 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 1 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.0 citations a year over 23 year(s) since 2005 |
| Impact for its field and year | 0 / 6 | Cited 0.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author David L. Dünner: h-index 73 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | University of Washington: institution h-index 3,540 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16273012) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 29 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Dünner, D. L. (2005). Depression, Dementia, or Pseudodementia? CNS Spectrums. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1092852900019799
Vancouver
Dünner DL. Depression, Dementia, or Pseudodementia? CNS Spectrums. 2005. doi:10.1017/s1092852900019799. PMID: 16273012.
BibTeX
@article{dunner2005-16273012,
author = {Dünner, David L.},
title = {{Depression, Dementia, or Pseudodementia?}},
journal = {CNS Spectrums},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1017/s1092852900019799},
pmid = {16273012},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s1092852900019799}
}
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