There is a consensus among researchers that late life depression and depression in AD comprehend two different pathologies, with some shared symptoms. For example, apathy and amnesia are common features in both diseases, and could be explained by consequences of a mood disorder or a cognitive syndrome. In addition, frontal lobe dysfunction is linked to a variety of geriatric neuropsychiatric syndromes, representing an area of intersection in depression and dementia (Steffens, 2012).
Therefore, identification of depression as marker for increased risk of conversion from depression to dementia among patients with MCI has become the main focus for those caring for individuals with depression or cognitive impairment. We now need further investigation.
kind Ricardo,
i hope this alleged fits your request, Mauro Colombo
PS1: hoping there is no problem in alleging the file
PS2: I'vejust answered also through your precedent question
I agree, further investigation is needed in this area. I recently saw a patient who had been evaluated at two other occations. At each neuropsychological evaluation she endorsed clinically significant depression, but otherwise her profile was normal. At her most recent evaluation, she remained depressed, but now had significant memory impairment. Although her ADLs were still intact, it is easy to speculate that she might eventually meet criteria for dementia.
The more we know about depression and how it relates to cognitive impairment, the more we will be able to do for our patients. Thank you for posting this!
I study this population and it has been about 50% of older adults with depression meet criteria fro MCI.
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