Recognition and management of abulia in the elderly

Abstract

Abulia is a state of diminished motivation in which an individual may appear apathetic, disinterested, asocial and emotionally remote. There is currently a lack of information on the recognition and management of abulia in elderly patients, despite the fact that it occurs in conjunction with many conditions that are associated with ageing. Here, the authors review the current literature and describe three cases of abulia in elderly patients that responded well to treatment with bromocriptine. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Interface Ltd

Reversal of Abulia with Atomoxetine in Unilateral Basal Ganglia Infarct: A Case Report

“…Indian Music: A Future in Dementia Care Indian Music and Dementia Dear Editor, B ehavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD), like anxiety and agitation, leads to social isolation. 1 They are often managed by pharmacological interventions due to easy availability. However, prolonged use of drugs might worsen the symptoms or produce adverse side effects.…”

“…Sir, A bulia, a distinct lesser-known anatomoclinical syndrome associated with bilateral basal ganglia infarcts, entails the loss of motivation, reduced spontaneity, and blunted affect. 1 Traditionally, the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, localized in the ventral tegmental area with wide projections to the ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex, has been implicated in motivation and reward pleasure. 2 Bilateral lesions of the globus pallidus (GP) have been associated with anhedonia and depression.…”

Troubles de la réalisation d’action et dépression avec activité suicidaire

“…En outre, la litté rature grise propose souvent un tronc sé mantique commun aux alté rations de la ré alisation d'action dirigé es vers un but dans la mesure où , pour dé crire un dé ficit comportemental quelconque, apparaissent fré quemment des items descriptifs tels que « manque de motivation », « diminution ou disparition des activité s autoinitié es », « diminution ou disparition de la spontané ité » ou encore « dé faut de ré activité ». Ces critè res sont utilisé s dans de nombreuses descriptions cliniques, notamment pour l'avolition [39,43], l'apathie [7,11,13,21,37,38,46], l'apragmatisme, l'athymormie [20,36], l'anhé donie [17], la procrastination [40] et l'aboulie [14]. Comme on peut le remarquer toutefois, nombre des termes employé s pour expliquer ces troubles se chevauchent et les dé finitions s'incluent l'une l'autre.…”