Molecular imaging of beta-amyloid deposition in late-life depression

Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia and may involve Alzheimer's disease pathology. Twenty-one LLD patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, criteria for a current major depressive episode and 21 healthy controls underwent clinical and neuropsychological assessments, magnetic resonance imaging to measure gray matter volumes, and high-resolution positron emission tomography to measure beta-amyloid (A beta) deposition. Clinical and neuropsychological assessments were repeated after 10-12 weeks of Citalopram or Sertraline treatment (LLD patients only). LLD patients did not differ from healthy controls in baseline neuropsychological function, although patients improved in both depressive symptoms and visual-spatial memory during treatment. Greater A beta in the left parietal cortex was observed in LLD patients compared with controls. Greater A beta was correlated with greater depressive symptoms and poorer visual-spatial memory, but not with improvement with treatment. The study of LLD patients with prospective measurements of mood and cognitive responses to antidepressant treatment is an opportunity to understand early neurobiological mechanisms underlying the association between depression and subsequent cognitive decline. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Automated summary

The study of LLD patients found that they did not differ from healthy controls in baseline neuropsychological function, but they showed improvement in depressive symptoms and visual-spatial memory during treatment. Greater Aβ deposition in the left parietal cortex was observed in LLD patients, which was correlated with more severe depressive symptoms and poorer visual-spatial memory.