Depressive symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases

Table 2 The cornell scale for depression in dementia

Mood-related signs

Anxiety: Anxious expression, rumination, worrying

Sadness: Sad expression, sad voice, tearfulness

Lack of reaction to present events

Irritability: Annoyed, short tempered

Behavioral disturbance

Agitation: Restlessness, hand writing, hair pulling

Retardation: Slow movements, slow speech, slow reactions

Multiple physical complaints (score 0 if gastrointestinal symptoms only)

Loss of interest: Less involved in usual activities (score only if change occurred acutely, i.e., in less than one months)

Physical signs

Appetite loss: Eating less than usual

Weight loss: (score 2 if greater than 5 pounds in one month)

Lack of energy: Fatigues easily, unable to sustain activities

Cyclic function

Diurnal variation of mood: Symptoms worse in the morning

Difficulty falling asleep: Later than usual for this individual

Multiple awakening during sleep

Early morning awakening: Earlier than usual for this individual

Ideational disturbance

Suicidal: Feels like is not worthy living

Poor self-steem: Self-blame, self-depreciation, feelings of failure

Pessimism: Anticipation of the worst

Mood congruent delusions: Delusions of poverty, illness or loss

Scoring system

A= Unable to evaluate; 0 = Absent; 1 = Mild to intermittent; 2 = Severe

score greater than; 12 = Probable depression