Depressive disorders in the elderly and dementia: An update

• Autor(a) principal: Dias,Natália S.
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Barbosa,Izabela G., Kuang,Weihong, Teixeira,Antonio L.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Dementia & Neuropsychologia
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-57642020000100001
• topic: depression; dementia; Alzheimer’s disease; differential diagnosis; therapeutics

ABSTRACT The relationship between depressive disorders in the elderly and dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is highly complex. While the nature of this relationship is still a matter of debate, differential diagnosis and treatment remain a great clinical challenge. We review recent findings on the conundrum of depressive disorders in the elderly and AD. There is a biological continuum between depressive disorders in the elderly – or at least a subgroup of them – and AD. While elderly subjects with depression and patients with AD exhibit higher circulating levels of pro-inflammatory molecules and lower BDNF than matched controls, CSF levels of Aβ42 can discriminate AD from depressive disorders in the elderly. The role of antidepressant treatment as a strategy to minimize the risk of AD remains to be established.