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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by djmmm on May 29, 2003, at 16:56:56
Depression Symptoms Linked to Alzheimer's Disease
By Dana Frisch
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 19 - Individuals who experience depression symptoms are more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) later in life than are family members without such symptoms, according to a report published in the May issue of the Archives of Neurology.
Moreover, this association was true even when depression symptoms occurred more than two decades prior to the diagnosis of AD, though the risk was reduced.
Those who recalled having bouts of depression symptoms 25 years earlier were 1.7 times more likely to develop AD compared with family members without these symptoms.
Lead author Dr. Robert C. Green, from Boston University School of Medicine, told Reuters Health that he was surprised to find the association stretched back 25 years prior to the diagnosis with AD.
These findings might indicate that AD is a "very different disease than we realize"--starting earlier in life and manifesting itself in more subtle ways when people are younger or middle-aged, Dr. Green said.
Alternatively, Dr. Green and his colleagues note that depression symptoms might be a "proxy for [a] lower neurological 'reserve,'" which slows or tempers the onset of AD.
Depression symptoms appearing within a year of onset of Alzheimer's, according to Green, are manifestations of the disease.
In the current study, the researchers analyzed data from 1953 AD patients and 2093 unaffected family members, focusing on the presence of depression symptoms, apolipoprotein E status, and other known risk factors, such as a history of head trauma.
When depression symptoms first appeared more than one year prior to the onset of AD, a 40% increase in the risk of AD was observed compared with when such symptoms were absent.
Dr. Green said that comparing patients with unaffected family members was particularly illustrative because they share many of the same genetic and environmental determinants.
"You can sharpen what the distinctions might actually be that put people at risk or give them protection," he added.
Arch Neurol 2003; 60:753-759.
from medscape
Posted by Jack Smith on May 29, 2003, at 17:21:46
In reply to Depression Symptoms Linked to Alzheimer's Disease, posted by djmmm on May 29, 2003, at 16:56:56
Posted by Larry Hoover on May 29, 2003, at 18:09:28
In reply to Depression Symptoms Linked to Alzheimer's Disease, posted by djmmm on May 29, 2003, at 16:56:56
> Depression Symptoms Linked to Alzheimer's Disease
>
> By Dana Frisch
>
> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 19 - Individuals who experience depression symptoms are more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) later in life than are family members without such symptoms, according to a report published in the May issue of the Archives of Neurology.OK, before everybody gets their knickers in a knot, correlations such as this one are intriguing, but you have to look at each of the possible explanations for the correlational relationship. I'll ignore chance coincidence as an explanation.
The correlation could be explained by:
a) Alzheimer's cause depression. Prior to development of overt Alzheimer's, earlier periods of brain dysfunction labelled as major depression are actually manifestations of Alzheimer's disease.
b) Depression causes Alzheimer's. That's what everybody wants to believe, because depression came first. However, the researchers themselves say that depression is an early symptom of Alzheimer's. Clearly, there's a little more work needed to sort these two out.
c) Both depression and Alzheimer's are themselves caused by other factors. In other words, by sharing the same risk factors, there will be a correlation between the two diseases simply because both become more likely at the same time.
There is already evidence for the latter argument, at least suggestively. Read this abstract, and think depression every time you read Alzheimer's or dementia (except the first sentence), and you'll find that the risk factors are ones you already know of for mood disorder.Drugs Aging 2003;20(6):399-418
Dietary lipids in the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease: implications for therapy.
Cooper J.
The Memory Center, Affinity Health System, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USADepartment of Neurology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but no conclusive evidence has emerged showing that these hallmarks are the cause and not a product of the disease. Many studies have implicated oxidation and inflammation in the AD process, and there is growing evidence that abnormalities of lipid metabolism also play a role. Using epidemiology to elucidate risk factors and histological changes to suggest possible mechanisms, the hypothesis is advanced that dietary lipids are the principal risk factor for the development of late-onset sporadic AD.The degree of saturation of fatty acids and the position of the first double bond in essential fatty acids are the most critical factors determining the effect of dietary fats on the risk of AD, with unsaturated fats and n-3 double bonds conferring protection and an overabundance of saturated fats or n-6 double bonds increasing the risk. The interaction of dietary lipids and apolipoprotein E isoforms may determine the risk and rate of sustained autoperoxidation within cellular membranes and the efficacy of membrane repair.Interventions involving dietary lipids and lipid metabolism show great promise in slowing or possibly averting the development of AD, including dietary changes, cholesterol-modifying agents and antioxidants.
Posted by linkadge on May 29, 2003, at 20:23:02
In reply to Re: Depression Symptoms Linked to Alzheimer's Disease, posted by Larry Hoover on May 29, 2003, at 18:09:28
Antidepressant medication has already been shown to provide robust protection of the hippocampus. Through BDNF, NGF expression, and even Serotogenic function, I'm sure the drugs provide some offset to the disease's toll.
There are even studies that sugest SSRI's and Lithium can improve the prognosis in AD, even studies that link the severity of the depression to that of the AD.
If your depression is well treated, I think you'll be in good shape.
Linkadge
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