Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T21:10:53.276Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

“Senile Dementia”: A Changing Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

D. A. Alexander
D. A. Alexander*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, University of Aberdeen, University Medical Buildings, Foresterhill, Aberdeen
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

To demonstrate how 'senile dementia emerged as an important psychiatric concept is not an easy task. Although the history of general psychiatry can be satisfactorily traced to the spirited endeavours of Hippocrates (460–375 B.C.), Celsus (circa 30 a.d.), Soranus the elder (circa 100 a.d.), and Aretaeus (circa 150 a.d.), the psychiatry of old age unfortunately lacks such a clear and well-defined genealogy. The term 'senile dementia’ itself seems to have been first used by Aretaeus, the physician of Cappadocia, but exactly how it had evolved and how it was differentiated, if at all, from normal senescence is not at all clear. Certainly modern psychiatry has inherited a wealth of graphic description of old age in general, and for a detailed account of the relevant ethnographic literature the reader is referred to the excellent article by Rosen (1961). From a scientific point of view, however, it is unfortunate that the spirit of enquiry and the descriptive contributions of the early writers seem to have been tempered more by the degree of optimism or pessimism with which they anticipated the intellectual and behavioural foibles of old age, than by a desire to explore and evaluate systematically its possible deviations.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 121 , Issue 561 , August 1972 , pp. 207 - 214
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1972 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, D. A. (1971). ‘Two tests of psychomotor function in detection of organic cerebral damage in elderly psychiatric patients.’ Percept. mot. Skills. Google Scholar
Alzheimer, A. (1902). ‘Die Seelenstörungen auf arteriosklerotischer Grundlage.’ Allg. Ztschr. f. Psychiatrie, 59, 695.Google Scholar
Barker, M. G., and Lawson, J. S. (1968). ‘Nominal dysphasia in dementia.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 114, 1351–6.Google Scholar
Bergeron, M., and Hanus, M. (1964). ‘Reversible states of dementia.’ Ann. méd.-psychol., 122(0/4, 529–53.Google Scholar
Binswanger, O. (1894). ‘Die, Abgrenzung der allgemeinen progressiven Paralyse.’ Klin. Wochenschr., 31, 1137–80.Google Scholar
Blake, D. H. (1968). ‘Day hospital for geriatric patients: the first 12 months.’ Med. J. Austr., 2, 802–4.Google Scholar
Bleuler, E. (1916). Textbook of Psychiatry. Engl. trans. by Brill, A. A., 1924.Google Scholar
Bumke, O. (1936). Lehrbuch der Geisteskrankheiten. 4th ed. Munich: Bregmann.Google Scholar
Cahan, R. B., and Yeager, C. L. (1966). ‘Admission E.E.G. as a predictor of mortality and discharge for aged state hospital patients.’ J. Geront, 21, 248–56.Google Scholar
Canstatt, C. F. (1839). Die Krankheiten des höhern Alters and ihre Heilting (2 vols),. Erlangen: F. Enke, 1839.Google Scholar
Clouston, T. S. (1883). Clinical Lectures on Mental Diseases. London: J. & A. Churchill.Google Scholar
Corsellis, J. A. N. (1962). Mental Illness and the Ageing Brain. Maudsley Monograph No. 9. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dayton, N. A. (1940). New Facts on Mental Disorders. Springfield, ill.: Charles C. Thomas.Google Scholar
Dziduszko, T. (1964). ‘Epidemiology of psychiatric diseases in advanced ages in the Warsaw region and its surroundings.’ Neur. polska, 14, 655–62.Google Scholar
Esquirol, J. E. D. (1838). Traité des Maladies Mentales. Engl, transí, by Hunt, E. K. (1845).Google Scholar
Fisher, J., and Pierce, R. (1967). ‘A typology of mental disorders in the aged.’ J. Geront., 22, 478–84.Google Scholar
Fünfgeld, E. W. (1968). ‘Possibilities of distinction between different syndromes of dementia with the help of the E.E.G.,’ in Senile Dementia (eds. C. Müller, and L. Ciompi). Bern and Stuttgart: Hans Huber Publications.Google Scholar
Gellerstedt, N. (1933). ‘Zur Kenntnis der Hirnveränderungen bei der normalen Altersinvolution.’ Upsala Läkaref. Forh., 38, 193.Google Scholar
Grad, J., and Sainsbury, P. (1965). ‘An evaluation of the effects of caring for the aged at home,’ in Psychiatric Disorders in the Aged. Report on the Symposium held by the World Psychiatric Association at the Royal College of Physicians, London.Google Scholar
Griesinger, W. (1845). Pathologic und Therapie der Psychischen Krankheiten. Trans, by Robertson, C. L., New Sydenham Society Publications, No. 33, London, 1862.Google Scholar
Grünthal, E. (1927). ‘Klinisch-anatomisch vergleichende Untersuchungen über der Greisenblödsinn.’ Z. ges. Neurol. Psychiat., 111, 763.Google Scholar
Hopkins, B., and Roth, M. (1953). ‘Psychological test performance in patients over sixty. II. Paraphrenia, arteriosclerotic psychosis and acute confusion.’ J. ment. Sci., 99, 451–63.Google Scholar
Hunter, R., and MacAlpine, I. (1963). Three Hundred Years of Psychiatry. (1535–1860). London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ingram, I. M. (1966). ‘Slowing and intellectual deterioration in the elderly.’ Biological and Clinical Medicine. Vol. 1, 7th International Congress of Gerontology. Vienna/Austraia.Google Scholar
Jacobs, E. A., Winter, P. M., Alvis, H. J., and Small, S. M. (1969). ‘Hyperoxygenation effect on cognitive functioning in the aged.’ New England J. Med., 281(14), 753–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kay, D. W. K. (1962). ‘Outcome and cause of death in mental disorders of old age: a long-term follow-up of functional and organic psychoses.’ Acta psychiat. Scand., 38, 249–76.Google Scholar
Kay, D. W. K. Beamish, P., and Roth, M. (1964a). ‘Old age mental disorders in Newcastle upon Tyne. Part I.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 110, 146–58.Google Scholar
Kay, D. W. K. Beamish, P., and Roth, M. (1964b). ‘Old age mental disorders in Newcastle upon Tyne. Part II.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 110, 668–82.Google Scholar
Kay, D. W. K. Bergmann, K., Foster, E. M., McKechnie, A. A., and Roth, M. (1970). ‘Mental illness and hospital usage in the elderly: random sample followed up.’ Comp. Psychiat., 11, 26–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kay, D. W. K. Norris, V., and Post, F. (1956). ‘Prognosis in psychiatric disorders of the elderly: an attempt to define indicators of early death and early recovery.’ J. Ment. Sci., 102, 129–40.Google Scholar
Kraepelin, E. (1912). Lehrbuch der Psychiatrie. Leipzig: Barth.Google Scholar
Lambo, T. A. (1965). ‘Epidemiology and prevention in the developing countries,’ in Psychiatric Disorders in the Aged. Report on the Symposium held by the World Psychiatric Assoc. at the Royal College of Physicians, London.Google Scholar
Larsson, J. (1968). ‘Epidemiology and genetics in senile dementia,’ in Senile Dementia (eds. C. Müller, and L. Ciompi). Bern and Stuttgart: Hans Huber Publications.Google Scholar
Larsson, T., Sjögren, T., and Jacobsen, G. (1963). ‘Senile dementia: a clinical socio-medical and genetic study.’ Acta psychiat. Scand., 39, Suppl. 167, 1–259.Google Scholar
Lawson, J. S., and Barker, M. G. (1968). ‘The assessment of nominal dysphasia in dementia: the use of reaction-time measures.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 41, 1351–6.Google Scholar
Levy, R., Isaacs, A., and Hawkes, G. (1970). ‘Neurophysiological correlates of senile dementia: I. Motor and sensory nerve conduction velocity.’ Psychol. Med., 1(1), 40–7.Google Scholar
Levy, R., Isaacs, A., and Behrman, J. (1971). ‘Neurophysiological correlates of senile dementia: II. The somatosensory evoked response.’ Psychol. Med., 1(2), 159–65.Google Scholar
Lewis, A. (1946). ‘Ageing and senility: a major problem of psychiatry.’ J. ment. Sci., 92, 150–70.Google Scholar
Malzberg, B. (1963). ‘The frequency of mental disease: a study of trends in New York State.’ Acta psychiat. Scand., 39, 19–30.Google Scholar
Mayer-Gross, W., Slater, E., and Roth, M. (1960). Clinical Psychiatry. 2nd edition. London: Cassell.Google Scholar
McDonald, C. (1969). ‘Clinical heterogeneity in senile dementia.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 115, 267–71.Google Scholar
Müller, C. (1968). Foreword to Senile Dementia (eds. C. Müller, and L. Ciompi). Bern and Stuttgart: Hans Huber Publications.Google Scholar
Munch-Petersen, S. (1966). ‘Problems relating to patients with senile dementia.’ Acta psychiat. Scand., Suppl. 191–195, 99–10.Google Scholar
Nielsen, J. (1968). ‘Chromosomes in senile dementia.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 114, 303–9.Google Scholar
Nielsen, J. (1970). ‘Chromosomes in senile, presenile and arteriosclerotic dementia.’ J. Geront., 25(4), 312–5.Google Scholar
Oakley, D. (1965). ‘Senile dementia, some aetiological factors.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 111, 414–9.Google Scholar
Obrist, W. D., Sokoloff, L., Lassen, N. A., Lane, M. H., Butler, R. N., and Feinberg, I. (1963). ‘Relation of E.E.G. to cerebral blood flow and metabolism in old age.’ Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol., 15, 610–9.Google Scholar
Otomo, E., and Tsubaki, T. (1966). Electroencephalography in subjects sixty years and over.’ Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol., 20, 77–82.Google Scholar
Prichard, J. C. (1842). On the Different Forms of Insanity in Relation to Jurisprudence. London, 1842.Google Scholar
Raskin, N., and Ehrenberg, N. (1956). ‘Senescence, senility and Alzheimer's disease.’ Amer. J. Psychiat., 113, 133–7.Google Scholar
Robertson, E. E., and Browne, N. L. M. (1953). ‘Review of mental illness in the old age group.’ Brit. med. J., 2, 1076–9.Google Scholar
Robinson, R. A. (1965). ‘The organisation of a diagnostic and treatment unit for the aged in a mental hospital,’ in Psychiatric Disorders in the Aged. Report on the Symposium held by the World Psychiatric Association at the Royal College of Physicians, London.Google Scholar
Rogers, C. (1869). Scotland, Social and Domestic. London, 1869.Google Scholar
Rosen, G. (1961). ‘Cross-cultural and historical approaches,’ in Psychopathology of Ageing (eds. P. H. Hoch, and J. Zubin). New York and London: Grune and Stratton, 1961.Google Scholar
Rosen, B. M., Anderson, T. E., and Bahn, A. K. (1968). ‘Psychiatric services for the aged: A nationwide survey of patterns of utilisation.’ J. chron. Dis., 21, 167–77.Google Scholar
Roth, M., and Morrissey, J. D. (1952). ‘Problems in the diagnosis and classification of mental disorders in old age, with a study of case material.’ J. ment. Sci., 98, 66–80.Google Scholar
Roth, M., and Hopkins, B. (1953). ‘Psychological test performance in patients over sixty. I: Senile psychosis and the Affective disorders of old age.’ J. ment. Sci., 99, 439–50.Google Scholar
Roth, M., and Hopkins, B. (1955). ‘The natural history of mental disorder in old age.’ J. ment. Sci., 101, 281–301.Google Scholar
Roth, M., and Hopkins, B. (1960). ‘Ageing and the mental diseases of the aged’, Clinical Psychiatry (by Mayer-Gross, W., Slater, E., and Roth, M.). 2nd ed. London: Cassell.Google Scholar
Roth, M., and Hopkins, B. (1963). ‘Neurosis, psychosis and the concept of disease in psychiatry.’ Acta psychiat. Scand., 39, (1), 128–45.Google Scholar
Roth, M., Tomunson, B. E., and Blessed, G. (1968). ‘The association between quantitative measures of dementia and of senile change in the cerebral grey matter of elderly subjects.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 114, 797–811.Google Scholar
Runge, W. (1936). ‘Die Geistesstörungen des Greisenalters,’ in Bumke, O., Lehrbuch der Geisteskrankheiten. 4th ed. Munich: Bergmann.Google Scholar
Shah, K. V., Banks, G. D., and Merskey, H. (1969). ‘Survival in arteriosclerotic and senile dementia.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 115, 1283–6.Google Scholar
Short, M. J., Musella, L., and Wilson, W. P. (1968). ‘Correlation of affect and E.E.G. in senile psychoses.’ J. Geront., 23, 325–7.Google Scholar
Simon, A. (1970). ‘Physical and sociophysiologic stress in the geriatric mentally ill.’ Comp. Psychia∗∗∗., 11, 242–7.Google Scholar
Skae, D. (1863). ‘A rational and practical classification of insanity.’ J. men. Sci., 9, 309.Google Scholar
Stearns, H. P. (1893). Lectures on Mental Diseases. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co.Google Scholar
Stotsky, B. A., and Dominick, J. R. (1969). ‘Mental patients in nursing homes. I. Social deprivation and regression.’ J. Amer. ger. Soc., 17(1), 33–44.Google Scholar
Strachan, R. M., and Henderson, J. G. (1967). ‘Dementia and Folate deficiency.’ Quart. J. Med., 36, 189–204.Google Scholar
Trier, T. R. (1966). ‘Characteristics of mentally ill aged: A comparison of patients with psychogenic disorders and patients with organic brain syndromes.’ J. Geront., 21, 354–64.Google Scholar
Turton, E. C., and Warren, P. K. G. (1960). ‘Dementia: a clinical and E.E.G. study of 274 patients over the age of 60.’ J. ment. Sci., 106, 1493–1500.Google Scholar
Walsh, A. C. (1969). ‘Prevention of senile and presenile dementia by Bishydroxycoumarin (Dicumarol) therapy.’ J. Amer. ger. Soc., 17(5), 477–87.Google Scholar
Zilboorg, G., and Henry, G. W. (1941). A History of Medical Psychology. New York: Norton and Co.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.