[1] In 2005, psychiatrists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine created a set of operationalized criteria to aid the diagnosis of dAD in clinical practice.
People with dAD are more likely than those with MDD to show a decline in their enjoyment of social contacts or customary activities, but are less likely to express or experience guilt or feel suicidal.
Medication may be justified for people with diagnosed dAD who are suicidal, violent, not eating or drinking, or who score high on the Cornell scale.
If these treatments do not address the symptoms, it would be reasonable to try noradrenergic drugs, secondary amine tricyclic antidepressants, or a monoamine oxidase inhibitor.
[4] A clinical trial testing sertraline (Zoloft) for depression of Alzheimer disease, launched by the NIMH in 2004, was due to be completed in the summer of 2009.