Clinical Staging for Personality Disorders in Older Adults.

Objective: This scientific research aimed to investigate the feasibility of implementing a clinical staging (CS) model for personality disorders (PDs) in older adults. The CS model could provide valuable insights into the life course of personality pathology, prognosis, and treatment decisions for PDs in older adults.

Methods/design: The study employed an international Delphi methodology with three rounds and involved 21 experts.

Feasibility of EMDR toward Personality Functioning in Older Adults with PTSD.

Objectives: Severe posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in older adults (≥60 years) has been found to be associated with maladaptive personality functioning and personality disorders (PD). Emerging evidence in adults supports that reprocessing adverse events with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) could improve personality functioning and reduce full PDdiagnosis.

Methods: A multicenterfeasibilitystudy in 24 older PTSD-patients receiving weekly EMDR-sessions for either 3, 6 or 9 months.

Assessment of Personality Disorders in Older Adults. A Practice Guide.

Assessment of personality disorders (PDs) in older adults is a nuanced trade of its own. The aim of this practice guide is to illustrate gerontological assessment challenges using 3 case vignettes. We argue that it is important to pay extra attention to the influence of cognitive and medical (somatic) disorders on personality functioning in older adults during personality assessment.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake-Inhibitors for Symptom-Based Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorders in Older Adults: An International Delphi Study.

Objective: International guidelines on symptom-based treatment of borderline personality disorders (BPD) in older adults are lacking. The number of older adults (≥ 65 years) with borderline personality disorder is rising. Effectiveness of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) on symptoms of BPD has only been investigated in younger adults and results are ambiguous.

Comparing patient and informant ratings of depressive symptoms in various stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: Using a multimethod approach, this study assessed the relationship between patient and informant ratings of depression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a manner that better represents the progressive course of AD, and allows for elucidation of specific cognitive domains that may explain changes in respondent agreement.

Method: Case data ( = 16,297) were provided by the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC). A series of contingency analyses were performed to assess the relationship between patient and informant agreement across levels of impairment in individuals with AD.

A Delphi study of late-onset personality disorders.

Objectives: The DSM-5 describes personality disorders (PDs) as emerging in early life and remaining continuous throughout the life-span. Yet case studies and expert opinion support the existence of late-onset PDs. Little is known about PDs in late life, and our instruments for assessing them are not well validated.

Commentary on Special Issue on Geriatric Assessment.

We provide commentary about the articles in this special section of "Assessment in Older Adults" by using van Alphen's framework of a systematic multidimensional approach for diagnosis and treatment in older adults.

Primary Care for the Elderly Bereaved: Recommendations for Medical Education.

The aim of this study was to explore the current practices of primary care physicians (PCPs) in providing bereavement care to elderly patients, with implications for medical education. A total of 63 PCPs answered a brief online survey about their typical practices, barriers, comfort level with bereavement, and confidence in their ability to diagnose prolonged grief disorder (PGD). They were recruited through an online newsletter and contacts of one of the authors.

A cross-validation Delphi method approach to the diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders in older adults.

Introduction: The Delphi method is a consensus-building technique using expert opinion to formulate a shared framework for understanding a topic with limited empirical support. This cross-validation study replicates one completed in the Netherlands and Belgium, and explores US experts' views on the diagnosis and treatment of older adults with personality disorders (PD).

Methods: Twenty-one geriatric PD experts participated in a Delphi survey addressing diagnosis and treatment of older adults with PD.

Methylphenidate Treatment of Minor Depression in Very Old Patients.

Seven patients age 80-106 who presented with signs and symptoms of depression were successfully treated with 1.25-10 mg of methylphenidate per day without evidence of toxicity or tolerance. Treatment was continued for up to 24 months with sustained benefits.