Absence of dementia in late-onset schizophrenia: a one year follow-up of a Brazilian case series

background: cognitive deficits of late-onset schizophrenia (los) patients have been reported as stable, although some prospective studies show that a sub-group develop a significant cognitive decline. data on los from developing countries are scarce. objective: to evaluate the cognitive performance of brazilian patients with los over the course of one year. method: thirteen los patients were evaluated at baseline and after one year with the mini-mental state examination (mmse), the camcog, the positive and negative symptoms scale, the pfeffer？s activities of daily living (adl), and the neuropsychiatric inventory (npi). results: cognition and activities of daily living remained stable over the course of one year [baseline mmse= 21.31 (4.87) and camcog=80.31 (16.68); end-point mmse=20.77 (3.86) and camcog=82.92 (14.42) (z=-0.831; p=0.40); baseline adl=4.31 (5.65); end-point adl= 5.92 (3.86) (z=-0.831; p=0.40)]; end-point npi=10.54 (10.69) (z=-0.737; p=0.46]. conclusion: like patients from developed countries, brazilian patients with los do not seem develop dementia, at least over the course of one year.