Depression in the elderly linked to Alzheimer's risk

A study, involving 371 patients with mild cognitive impairment, has found that those with depressive symptoms had higher levels of amyloid-beta, particularly in the frontal cortex and the anterior and posterior cingulate gyrus (both involved in mood disorders such as depression).

The findings suggest that late-life depression could be a major risk factor for developing Alzheimer's faster than others.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/sonm-dit060814.php

Brendel, M. et al. 2014. Subsyndromal late life depression is associated with amyloid accumulation in mild cognitive impairment. Presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2014 Annual Meeting, June 7, 2014, St. Louis, Missouri.

Related News

Research into the link, if any, between cholesterol and dementia, has been somewhat contradictory. A very long-running Swedish study may explain why.

A study involving 360 patients with degenerative dementia (109 people with dementia with

In a study in which 78 healthy elders were given 5 different tests and then tested for cognitive performance 18 months later, two tests combined to correctly predict nearly 80% of those who developed significant cognitive decline.

A study involving 676 children (7-9) in rural Nepal has found that those whose mothers received iron, folic acid and vitamin A supplementation during their pregnancies and for three months after the birth performed better on some measures of intellectual and motor functioning compared to offspri

Clinical records of 211 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease have revealed that those who have spoken two or more languages consistently over many years experienced a delay in the onset of their symptoms by as much as five years.

A study involving 68 healthy older adults (65-85) has compared brain activity among four groups, determined whether or not they carry the Alzheimer’s gene ApoE4 and whether their physical activity is reported to be high or low.

Following on from previous studies showing that drinking beet juice can lower blood pressure, a study involving 14 older adults (average age 75) has found that after two days of eating a high-nitrate breakfast, which included 16 ounces of beet juice, blood flow to the

A six-year study involving over 1200 older women (70+) has found that low amounts of albumin in the urine, at levels not traditionally considered clinically significant, strongly predict faster cognitive decline in older women.

More evidence that vascular disease plays a crucial role in age-related cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s comes from data from participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.

A simple new cognitive assessment tool with only 16 items appears potentially useful for identifying problems in thinking, learning and memory among older adults.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news