Faculty Bibliography

Premorbid personality traits have been implicated as risk factors for the development of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), although there is a paucity of studies investigating this relationship. In this narrative review, a number of studies found that premorbid neuroticism has consistently been observed to have a significant association with the development of BPSD symptoms while premorbid conscientiousness, extraversion, openness and agreeableness may be protective factors against future BPSD symptoms. In conclusion, premorbid personality traits appear to affect the risk of BPSD symptoms among individuals with dementia.

Premorbid personality traits have been implicated as risk factors for the development of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), although there is a paucity of studies investigating this relationship. In this narrative review, a number of studies found that premorbid neuroticism has consistently been observed to have a significant association with the development of BPSD symptoms while premorbid conscientiousness, extraversion, openness and agreeableness may be protective factors against future BPSD symptoms. In conclusion, premorbid personality traits appear to affect the risk of BPSD symptoms among individuals with dementia.

Clinical assessment in geriatric psychiatry is complex. It involves detection of subtle signs, separation of psychiatric symptoms from co-occurring medical and neurological manifestations, and work with families. Rating scales are a useful complement to clinical skills in ensuring all relevant questions have been asked, objectively detecting the presence or absence of an illness, quantifying its severity, as well as tracking response to treatment, and the course of an illness over time. This presentation will touch upon multiple available rating scales, with focus on the ones which will be of use to the busy clinician. The first section of the presentation will be a discussion on rating scales for depression, namely the Geriatric Depression Rating Scale (GDS), the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS), and the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). In the next section, we will describe an overview of the various types of assessment scales for dementia, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), St. Louis University Mental Status Exam (SLUMS), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - Cognitive sub-scale (ADAS-cog), and the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3-MS). The third section of the presentation will constitute a discussion of rating scales to detect neuropsychiatric disturbances, such as the Neuropsychiatry Inventory (NPI), the Neurobehavioral Rating Scale (NBRS), and the Cohen Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI). The final section will be a discussion of common rating scales used in assessing anxiety such as the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) and the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS). This section will also explore caregiver burden scales, with focus on the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview. Every sub-section of the presentation will provide an overview of the literature and comparison in terms of clinical utility, practicality, and psychometric properties. Since primary care physicians provide majority of the medical care for the elderly, screening tools for primary care that can be incorporated in a busy clinical practice will also be discussed.

Programs that train professionals in geriatric mental health expect the trainees to engage in scholarly activities including writing scientific manuscripts and getting them published either in books or journals. However, the training provided to achieve and or maintain academic and scholarly productivity is limited. Additionally, there is no standard format or curriculum to teach the trainees on how to acquire their own skill set to develop and implement their own academic portfolio. Furthermore, these deficiencies in developing scholarly productivity continue to hinder the career growth of the professional caring for older adults with mental health disorders. The clinical and administrative work load for these professionals often present additional challenges that prevents them from acquiring the skill set to develop a writing and publishing career. In this symposium, we will discuss ideas and methods on how a geriatric mental health professional can develop and implement their own scientific writing and publishing career. We will provide step by step instructions on how scientific manuscripts can be developed and published. Additionally, the faculty presenting at this symposium will provide case examples from their academic portfolio to illustrate how specific manuscripts were developed and published.]

Geriatricians are increasingly encountering older adults expressing suicidal wishes in the absence of overt mental illness. This is expected to grow as life expectancy increases. This article describes the case of an older adult who expressed the wish to end his life in the absence of a diagnosable mental illness. Although he had chronic medical illnesses, he was not terminally ill. The complex subject of rational suicide in elderly adults is approached from a clinician's perspective. Issues of ageism, gerontophobia, and changing perspectives on death are highlighted. The experience of being a Baby Boomer and its influence on rational suicide is reviewed. Finally, clinical topics such as aging, frailty, dependence on younger and healthier individuals, and the older adult's need for a sense of control are explored.