Are patients with mild cognitive impairment and depression at an increased risk of developing Alzheimers disease?
Researchers from Spain (Modrego and Ferrandez, Arch Neurol. 2004; 61(8):1290-3) conducted a three-year prospective study (n=114 patients) to see whether patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and depression had a higher risk of converting to Alzheimers disease (AD) than those without depression. Overall, just over 50% of the sample developed AD during the study. Interestingly, of the 41 patients diagnosed as depressed at baseline, 35 (85%) developed dementia in comparison with 24 (32%) of the nondepressed patients (relative risk, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-3.6). The survival analysis also showed that depressed patients developed dementia earlier than the nondepressed. Furthermore, they observed that most patients with depression at baseline exhibited a poor response to antidepressants. In conclusion, the authors state that patients with MCI and depression are at more than twice the risk of developing AD as those without depression. Patients with a poor response to antidep
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