Is it possible depression is one of the causes of Alzheimer's/dementia?

Question

I'm just wondering cuz several of my clients who have Alzheimer's/dementia have lost their spouses and/or children not long before they started showing symptoms and had to be placed in a home. Some people I have seen who already had it declined rapidly after losing a loved one.

Answer 1

Alzheimer's or depression: Could it be both?
Early Alzheimer's and depression share many symptoms, so it can be difficult even for doctors to distinguish between the two disorders. And, not surprisingly, many people with Alzheimer's also are depressed.

In fact, new studies have linked depression and Alzheimer's. People with a history of clinical depression also have an increased risk of eventually developing Alzheimer's.

Similar symptoms
In addition to sadness, depression causes loss of interest in once-enjoyable activities and hobbies. This also happens in Alzheimer's. Social and emotional withdrawal is common in both conditions, as are impaired memory and concentration.

As Alzheimer's disease progresses, communication skills break down. As a result, depression becomes even harder to recognize. Many people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease lack both the insight and the vocabulary to express how they feel or even to accurately answer direct questions about their symptoms.

"For example," says Glenn Smith, Ph.D., a psychologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., "if you were to ask a person with Alzheimer's if he or she rested well last night, the response might be 'I'm OK,' even if that person had not slept at all."

An important distinction
Considering these difficulties, it's easy to see why some people with depression have been mistakenly diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and vice versa. The distinction is important, though. Alzheimer's has no cure, but people with depression — whether it accompanies Alzheimer's or not — usually respond quite well to treatment.

In fact, depression treatment dramatically improves the quality of life for people who have both Alzheimer's and depression. A thorough physical exam and psychological evaluation can help detect depression in people who have Alzheimer's disease.

Signposts for depression
To detect depression in people with Alzheimer's disease, doctors must rely more heavily on nonverbal cues than on self-reported symptoms. If a person with Alzheimer's displays one of the first two symptoms in this list, along with at least two of the others, he or she may be depressed.

Significantly depressed mood — sad, hopeless, discouraged, tearful
Reduced pleasure in or response to social contacts and usual activities
Social isolation or withdrawal
Eating too much or too little
Sleeping too much or too little
Agitation or lethargy
Irritability
Fatigue or loss of energy
Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness or inappropriate guilt
Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
Men and women with Alzheimer's become depressed with equal frequency. This differs from the general population, in which women are more likely to experience depression than are men. People with Alzheimer's may also experience depression differently than do people without Alzheimer's. For example:

Symptoms may be less severe.
Episodes of depression may not last as long or recur as often.
Talk of suicide and attempted suicide is usually less common.
Types of treatment
Support groups and professional counseling may help depressed people in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, before their communication skills deteriorate. Increased mental stimulation and physical activity also may help alleviate depression.

Antidepressant medications are safe and effective, with minimal side effects. Physicians often try various drugs and dosages to see what works best for each individual. Results usually appear within just a few weeks.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most common type of antidepressants used for people who also have Alzheimer's. These include citalopram (Celexa), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil) and fluoxetine (Prozac).

People with Alzheimer's may also respond to antidepressants that inhibit the reuptake of brain chemicals other than serotonin. These include venlafaxine (Effexor), mirtazapine (Remeron) and bupropion (Wellbutrin).

Tricyclic antidepressants, such as nortriptyline (Pamelor) and desipramine (Norpramine), are no longer used as first-choice treatments. However, they may be prescribed if other medications aren't effective.

Some patients with depression and dementia may not respond to medication. Many of these patients benefit from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Is depression a risk factor for Alzheimer's?
A recent study suggests depression in older people may precede the development of Alzheimer's. This seven-year study tracked both depression and Alzheimer's symptoms in hundreds of people age 65 or older.

No participants had Alzheimer's symptoms at the beginning of the study. But those who reported the most depressive symptoms on a yearly questionnaire they completed during the study were more likely to eventually develop Alzheimer's. In fact, this tendency grew stronger with each additional depressive symptom reported.

Further research is needed to explore this possible link and determine whether treating the depression can reduce the risk for subsequent Alzheimer's. For now, recognizing and treating depression in older people, regardless of whether they have Alzheimer's disease, remains the best bet.

Answer 2

I don't think so. One's mental state can have an effect on physical health in general, though.

Dementia has physical causes like decreased blood supply to the brain. Alzheimer's is caused by a specific brain tissue changes that may have a hereditary component. Diseases that affect the nervous system or head injury can also cause dementia.

Depression/anxiety also goes along with dementia for many people.

My mother got dementia and died in 2001; she had no history of mental illness/depression before that. My father is still around and he's fairly healthy for an 80 year old.

I think what you're saying is a coincidence; most elderly people have had someone in their families die. The age and physical health of the person has more to do with it.

Answer 3

That's a really good question. Studies have never shown depression to be a cause of Alzheimer's, but it has been shown that depression can aggravate the symptoms. In fact, there have been studies that show that depression may cause forgetfulness and dementia similar to Alzheimer's. To my knowledge, there is still no test which can detect while a patient is still alive if they have Alzheimer's or not. It's possible though that there can be a cause and effect. Depression caused memory loss and dementia, which depresses the person more, which caused memory loss and dementia. I'm sorry, but it's a paradox and I strongly dislike paradoxes.

Answer 4

A very good, eye-opening site about this problem is: http://memoryloss.toptips.org
Memory loss may be due to many conditions such as small strokes in the brain, diabetes, high blood pressure, nutritional deficiencies, reactions to medications and alcoholism. The symtoms of more severe forms of Dementia / Alzheimer are mainly: poor judgement, poor decision making, masplacing things, difficulty having a conversation, losing track of dates, etc. If you notice any of these signs visit your doctor.

Answer 5

The connection between depression and memory loss is frequently a form of pseudodementia rather than a true dementia. Pseudodementia is reversible, which is what distinguishes it from dementia. Your best bet is a trip to see a neurologist for an appropriate diagnosis, as lots of primary care doctors aren't too well-versed in the differential diagnosis of dementia and its related disorders.

Answer 6

Over the last five years I had begun to have increasingly withdraw into a downward spiral of depression..

But now with the method I can fully focus my energy and thoughts into a decisive line on how to make my life better constantly. And it works like magic! I'm beginning to attract people to me once again and things have just been looking up since then.

Helping you eliminate depression?

Answer 7

I think most of the latest research is pointing towards a link with a deficiency's of omega 3 fatty acids and mental illness (depressions, ADD, schizophrenia, etc.)

Answer 8

yes dementia can be a result from neglected depression that was never taken care of when it was first starting.

makes sense doesn't it when people get depressed their whole lives basically flip upside down or whatever and some people just can't deal with that change so it pretty much tears away at their minds and they stop sleeping and get really paranoid about everything hence a predemential state of mind emerges

Answer 9

I think it's just a coincidence because everyone I've know with it had lots of family, yet their memory faded......

i personally thing it has to do with metals collecting in their system..... ever heard of the mad hatters disease..... in the late 1800's men in England used mercury to shine their fur hats and alot of them went insane because your system doesn't handle metal well........ just a thought

Answer 10

naturally people try to erase traumatic events they have endured, so i am leaning toward yea, its a form of self protection in deperssion.
right?