The Link Between Apathy And Alzheimer'S Disease: The Role Of Psychometric Tools And The Possible Implications For Treatment

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) represents a critical challenge because of its increasing neuropsychological impairment with progressive cognitive decline accompanied by Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) in almost 90% of patients. BPSD represent relevant clinical problems, leading to a worsening in the general conditions of patients. More specifically, apathy is often associated with a poor response to treatment, a faster cognitive and functional decline and an increased mortality rate.Apathy can be considered as a common symptom of AD and as an early marker of cognitive decline and transition from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. Recent studies have shown different neurobiological and clinical links between apathy and AD. Evidence discussed in the present article suggests a strong clinical link between apathy and AD as well as the relevance of psychometric tools, such as the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES), to better diagnose and treat apathy in patients with AD. The aim of this review was thus to provide a general overview of the neurobiological and clinical links between apathy and AD, with the purpose of evaluating the impact of apathy on the health of AD patients, focusing on the role of psychometric tools and the possible implications for treatment. A multimodal intervention should be promoted as an innovative approach for the future treatment of apathetic AD patients.