Depression in later life seems to be associated with changes in blood flow velocity in the main arteries of the brain, shows research in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. Hardened and thickened arteries, which are more typical in later life, do not explain the findings.
The findings were based on 2093 people over the age of 55 from a suburb of Rotterdam in Holland. The participants were interviewed using a validated questionnaire designed to detect depressive symptoms. Their brains were then scanned using Doppler ultrasonography, to measure the speed of blood flow and arterial (vasomotor) responsiveness to a carbon dioxide inhalation test.
The questionnaire revealed that 116 people had symptoms of depression, 40 of whom had confirmed clinical depression, and 59 of whom were just below the threshold of depression.
Those with depressive symptoms had both a significantly reduced blood flow velocity and reduced arterial (vasomotor) responsiveness to the carbon dioxide test compared with their mentally healthy peers. When the results were broken down by severity of symptoms, those with clinical depression had significantly reduced blood flow velocity and those just below the depression threshold also had a poorer vasomotor response than people in good mental health.
There were more people with hardened and narrowed arteries among those with depressive symptoms or borderline depression, but, said the authors, the association between blood flow velocity and vasomotor responsiveness was neither explained nor modified by arterial disease. Equally, the results still held true after taking account of other factors likely to influence the results, such as age, gender, education, history of stroke and risk factors for heart disease (Cerebral haemodynamics and depression in the elderly. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 2002;73:34-39).
The authors concluded that impaired vascular function in the brain may cause depressive symptoms in later life. This article was prepared by Pain & Central Nervous System Week editors from staff and other reports.
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