Relationship of endothelial function and atherosclerosis to treatment response in late-life depression

Objective Treatment response in late-life depression has been linked to cerebrovascular disease notably via the vascular depression hypothesis. This study investigated the relationship between endothelial function and atherosclerosis and treatment response to antidepressant monotherapy. Methods Twenty five patients with late-life depression were compared with 21 non-depressed control subjects in a case control study. Nine of the depressed subjects were responders to antidepressant monotherapy and 16 were not. Vascular measures included assessment of carotid intima media thickness (IMT) representing atherosclerosis and biopsied small artery dilatation to acetylcholine to assess endothelial function in a subset of subjects. Results There were no group differences in vascular risks or sociodemographic variables. There was a significant group difference (responders versus non-responders versus controls) on both IMT and endothelial function (p?