J Korean Geriatr Psychiatry.
2022 Apr;26(1):46-51. 10.47825/jkgp.2022.26.1.46.
Reversible Dementia With Rapid Recovery to Normal Cognition: A Case Report
- Affiliations
-
- 1Departments of Psychiatry, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon, Korea
- 2Departments of Neurology, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon, Korea
- 3Department of Psychiatry, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea
- KMID: 2529496
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.47825/jkgp.2022.26.1.46
Abstract
- We report the case of a 54-year-old female who was diagnosed with clinical dementia and recovered to normal cognition in only 11 days through appropriate intervention. The patient was on a complicated regimen of psychiatric medications for underlying depression and panic disorder. The patient noted increased deterioration in executive function gradual memory impairment starting in early 2020.As a result of the neuroimaging, prominent neurodegeneration and in vivo brain pathology were not observed. During outpatient clinic follow-up, severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was confirmed. Based on the diagnostic results, a clinical impression was made for reversible dementia due to psychiatric drugs and OSA. During hospitalization for 10 days, the patient’s regimen of psychiatric medications with anticholinergic effects was changed, and long-acting benzodiazepines were reduced. The patient also underwent continuous positive airway pressure titration to ameliorate OSA. The patient reported subjective cognitive improvement and a comprehensive neuropsychiatric test performed at discharge later showed a normal range in all cognitive domains, and the patient's activity of daily living evaluated at the outpatient clinic after discharge had recovered.
