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Clinical and neuropathological correlates of depression in Alzheimer's disease
Förstl H, Burns A, Luthert P, Cairns N, Lantos P, Levy R.. Psychological medicine, 1992-11-01
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Depressive symptoms have been reported in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent evidence suggests that a noradrenergic deficit originating from neuronal degeneration in brainstem nuclei may represent an organic correlate of these disturbances. We examined the neuropathological changes in the locus coeruleus (LC), substantia nigra (SN), basal nucleus of Meynert and cortex of 52 patients (12 male, 40 female, mean age 83.2 +/- 6.4 years) with pathologically verified AD. Fourteen patients (1 male, 13 female) showed signs of depression. The majority of these patients suffered from severe physical disability or sensory impairment and developed persistent delusions, but had less cognitive impairment. Neuronal counts in the LC were significantly lower than in the 38 patients without depression (36.9 +/- 14.0; 51.4 +/- 28.0 neuromelanin-pigmented cells per section per nucleus; F = 3.4, df = 1, 50, P = 0.04). Neuron counts were higher in the basal nucleus of Meynert in depressed AD patients and there were no differences of the neuron numbers in the SN. Depression (main effect; F = 4.5, P = 0.04) contributed significantly to the variance of neuronal counts in the LC, even when covarying for gender, age of onset, cognitive impairment and cortical Alzheimer pathology. The observed disproportionate loss of noradrenergic and cholinergic neurons in the LC and basal nucleus of Meynert may represent an important organic substrate of depression in AD.
Key findings
- Recent evidence suggests that a noradrenergic deficit originating from neuronal degeneration in brainstem nuclei may represent an organic correlate of these disturbances.
- Neuronal counts in the LC were significantly lower than in the 38 patients without depression (36.9 +/- 14.0; 51.4 +/- 28.0 neuromelanin-pigmented cells per section per nucleus; F = 3.4, df = 1, 50, P = 0.04).
- Depression (main effect; F = 4.5, P = 0.04) contributed significantly to the variance of neuronal counts in the LC, even when covarying for gender, age of onset, cognitive impairment and cortical Alzheimer pathology.
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Study details
- Participants52
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 25 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Psychological medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1992 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 52 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 1488485) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 25 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 25 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Förstl, H., Burns, A., Luthert, P., Cairns, N., Lantos, P., & Levy, R. (1992). Clinical and neuropathological correlates of depression in Alzheimer's disease. Psychological medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700038459
Vancouver
Förstl H, Burns A, Luthert P, Cairns N, Lantos P, Levy R. Clinical and neuropathological correlates of depression in Alzheimer's disease. Psychological medicine. 1992. doi:10.1017/s0033291700038459. PMID: 1488485.
BibTeX
@article{forstl1992-1488485,
author = {Förstl, H. and Burns, A. and Luthert, P. and Cairns, N. and Lantos, P. and Levy, R.},
title = {{Clinical and neuropathological correlates of depression in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Psychological medicine},
year = {1992},
doi = {10.1017/s0033291700038459},
pmid = {1488485},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700038459}
}
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