Rush Researcher Continues to Prove Depression is
Alzheimer's Risk Factor
Latest of multi-year studies says depression does not
increase in early dementia
By
Tucker Sutherland, editor & publisher
April 8, 2008 Different looks at the same study
group with the same Alzheimer's question has been producing the same
result for years and seems to grab headlines every time. The finding is
that depression is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, not a result
of the disease. Dr. Robert S. Wilson, Ph.D., of Rush University Medical
Center, Chicago, lead author of the study, has come to this conclusion
repeatedly for years.
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Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health |
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The angle on this particular look at the same group
of nuns, monks and priests he has examined for years, was to continue
testing his earlier conclusion that depression causes dementia by seeing
if depression increased after a person came down with AD.
This study found that symptoms of depression do not
appear to increase in the years before a diagnosis is made, according to
the report in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of
the JAMA/Archives journals. This suggests, the authors write, that
depression is not a consequence of developing Alzheimer's disease but
may instead be a risk factor for dementia.
So, this is the same conclusion Dr. Wilson has
reached at since 2002.
In background information in this article, the
authors say that previous studies have found higher levels of depressive
symptoms (such as feeling sad) among patients with Alzheimer's disease
and its precursor, mild cognitive impairment.
"The basis of this association is uncertain,
however," the authors write. "A leading hypothesis is that depressive
symptoms do not constitute a true risk factor but rather a consequence
of the disease." If this were the case, symptoms of depression would
likely increase during the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
| |
2003 Study on Depression and AD |
|
| |
Wall Street Journal -
December 21, 2003
Alzheimer's and
Stress
By KELLY
GREENE
Staff Reporter of THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL
If you get stressed out easily, you may be more susceptible to
Alzheimer's disease. A study of about 800 older Catholic nuns,
priests and brothers found that the people who most often feel
negative emotions such as anxiety and helplessness are twice as
likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as those least prone to
negative emotions. The research, published earlier this month in
the journal Neurology, was done by the Rush Alzheimer's Disease
Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Click to full story in pdf.. |
|
Although the researchers claim that "depressive
symptoms" not being a true risk factor for AD is a "leading hypothesis,"
Wilson has claimed otherwise, since at least 2003.
A special report by the Wall Street Journal on a
2003 study headed by Dr. Wilson reported the researchers "found that
proneness to stress 'is a contributor to Alzheimer's disease,' not a
symptom."
The WSJ report added, "The current study follows
earlier research Dr. Wilson published last year, finding that the same
pool of nuns, priests and brothers who had the most symptoms of
depression also had the greatest risk of developing Alzheimer's."
Wilson and colleagues have continued to study 917
older Catholic nuns, priests and monks who did not have dementia
beginning in 1994. Participants had a yearly clinical evaluation that
included a neurological examination, cognitive (thinking, learning and
memory) testing and classification of Alzheimer's disease or mild
cognitive impairment. They also completed a 10-item scale assessing
their symptoms of depression.
At the beginning of the study, 53.6 percent of
participants reported no symptoms of depression, 23.9 percent reported
one symptom, 9.7 percent reported two, 6.1 percent reported three and
6.8 percent reported four or more.
During follow-up, 190 individuals developed
Alzheimer's disease. Those with more symptoms of depression at the
beginning of the study were more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.
However, "those who developed Alzheimer's disease
showed no increase in depressive symptoms before the diagnosis was made,
and this finding was not modified by age, sex, education, memory
complaints, vascular burden or personality," the authors write.
"Among those without cognitive impairment at
baseline, depressive symptoms did not increase in those who subsequently
developed mild cognitive impairment."
Symptoms of depression may be associated with
changes in the brain that reduce its resistance to dementia, the authors
write.
"Understanding the mechanisms linking depressive
symptoms with dementia could suggest novel approaches to delaying
dementia onset because animal research suggests diverse means by which
the adverse effects of chronic stress may be modified."
Editor's Note: This study was supported by grants
from the National Institute on Aging.
>> Todays ABC report:
Depressed People More Prone to Alzheimer's, Study Says, ABC News
Does Stress Damage the Brain? This Study Says It
Does
Study finds it does in some combat veterans
April 8, 2008 - A study released in March found that the gray
matter density of an area of the brain, the pregenual anterior cingulate
cortex, which is involved in emotional functioning, was reduced in
veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but not in their
twins who had not experienced the stress of combat.
This finding supports the conclusion that the
psychological stress resulting from the traumatic stressor may damage
this brain region, with deleterious emotional consequences," according
to researcher Dr. Roger K. Pitman, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard
Medical School, Boston,
John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological
Psychiatry, noted that On the one hand, compelling data from animal
research indicates that stress can cause brain atrophy and even neural
death in some brain regions. On the other hand, the volume of several
brain regions are highly heritable and small brain volumes, presumably
related to reduced function, in the hippocampus may increase stress
reactivity or impair the capacity for resilience.
The study was published in the March 15, 2008,
issue of Biological Psychiatry.
>>
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