David Sultzer

Dr. Sultzer is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA School of Medicine. He directs the UCLA Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Training Program and the Gero/Neuropsychiatry Division at VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. He is recognized widely for his research activities to better understand the phenomenology, pathophysiology, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. He has received independent project research support from the NIMH and other funding sources to study psychiatric symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. His work using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) has demonstrated that specific clinical symptoms, including psychosis, are associated with regional metabolic dysfunction in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. These results indicate that psychiatric symptoms are fundamental expressions of the degenerative process. Recently, he has used PET imaging to better understand the neurobiological mechanisms involved in medication treatment response in Alzheimer’s disease. He has also completed clinical trials to compare the efficacy and adverse effects of medications for the treatment of psychosis and agitated behaviors in patients with dementia, and is one of the few researchers to have examined the differential response of specific clinical symptoms to pharmacologic interventions. Other areas of research interest include MRI imaging in Alzheimer’s disease, psychosis in older persons without cognitive disorders, and mood symptoms in patients with neuropsychiatric conditions. Dr. Sultzer received his medical degree from the University of North Carolina, and completed his residency training in psychiatry and fellowship training in neurobehavior at UCLA. He is prominently involved in graduate medical education at UCLA and the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. He lectures widely and has published numerous articles in the medical literature. He has also received several awards for his research work, and is recognized nationally for his academic activities related to geriatric psychiatry and Alzheimer’s disease.

Publications:

Sultzer, DL Brown, CV Mandelkern, MA Mahler, ME Mendez, MF Chen, ST Cummings, JL Delusional thoughts and regional frontal/temporal cortex metabolism in Alzheimer's disease.. The American journal of psychiatry. . 2003; 160(2): 341-9.