Antidepressants in Dementia: A Systematic Review Summary

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, it would give me great pleasure to show my gratitude to my professor, for his propositions, remarks, understanding and patience. It would also be an honour to express gratitude to my parents, my mother, my father, my sister and my brother for their endless support in my life and allowing me to make all my decisions. I would also like to take the opportunity to show appreciation to my co-workers for their expert cooperation on every occasion. I would also like to be grateful to the Department, managers of the university, instructors and students who have supported me throughout this research.

I certify that the work presented in the dissertation is my own unless referenced

Signature..........................................

Date.....................................

DECLARATION

I declare that the content presented in this thesis/dissertation is, in my understanding and opinion, original and has not been presented for scholarly assessment in the past, either completely or partly, for an academic degree at this educational institution or elsewhere. I would also like to admit that I have studied and understood the principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines of the University regarding the higher academic degree research award and to my dissertation. I would also like to declare that I have abided by the University's principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

Dementia is a severe and progressively disabling condition that effects almost all aspects of the life of the sufferer. Most researchers agree that dementia is a symptom of a disease process that is not a natural and normal part of aging. The symptoms of dementia may be caused by more than 70 known diseases, but Alzheimer's disease alone accounts for more than half of the cases. As the older adult population increases, the number of diagnosed cases of dementia continues to rise. Depression is a common co-morbid disorder in dementia. Recognition and treatment of depressive symptoms are vitally important in disease management as untreated depression is associated with increased disability and reduced quality of life. Antidepressants are widely prescribed to treat depression in patients with dementia. The main objective for conducting this research is to systematically review the use of antidepressants in case of depression in dementia.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Research Topic1

Research Aims and Objectives2

Structure of the thesis2

Chapter I: Introduction2

Chapter II: Literature Review3

Chapter III: Methodology3

Chapter IV: Discussion3

Chapter V: Conclusion4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW5

Dementia5

Types of Dementia6

Depression in Dementia6

Mild Cognitive Impairment and Depression8

Mild Cognitive Impairment8

Depression in Mild Cognitive Impairment11

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY14

Research Design14

Qualitative Research16

Data Collection17

Additional Online searches18

Search Strategy18

Selection Criteria19

Data Extraction19

Position of the Researcher20

Reliability and Validity20

Ethical Concerns22

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION23

Dementia and Depression23

Assessment of Depression in Dementia24

Systematic Review of Literature25

The Role of Depression in Cognitive Decline to Dementia28

Antidepressants Treatment for Depression in Dementia30

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION32

REFERENCES35

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader a brief overview about the research topic and provides the main purpose and aim behind this research study. It comprises of the background of the problem, which provides a brief overview of the topic of the research and the ...