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Increased hippocampal plaques and tangles in patients with Alzheimer disease with a lifetime history of major depression
Rapp MA, Schnaider-Beeri M, Grossman HT, Sano M, Perl DP, Purohit DP, Gorman JM, Haroutunian V.. Archives of general psychiatry, 2006-02-01
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Context The hallmark pathological changes in Alzheimer disease (AD) are abundant plaque and tangle formation, especially in the temporal lobes and hippocampus. Although there is increasing evidence that major depression may interact with neuropathological processes in AD, there have been no studies of neuropathological changes in AD as a function of history of major depression. Objective To test the hypothesis that neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are more pronounced in the hippocampus of patients with AD with a lifetime history of major depressive disorder, as compared with patients with AD without depression history. Design Postmortem study. Setting Nursing home. Participants The brains of 52 patients with AD without a lifetime history of major depression were compared with the brains of 50 patients with AD with a lifetime history of major depression. Main outcome measures Neuropathological ratings from the Consortium to Establish a Registry in Alzheimer Disease battery. Results Brains of patients with AD with a lifetime history of depression showed higher levels of both plaque (P<.005) and tangle (P<.002) formation within the hippocampus than brains of patients with AD without a history of depression. Post hoc analyses showed that patients with AD who had a history of depression exhibited more rapid cognitive decline than patients without a history of depression (P<.004). Furthermore, within the group of patients with AD with a history of depression, patients who exhibited concurrent depression at the time of first diagnosis of AD exhibited more pronounced neuropathological changes in the hippocampus (P<.006). Conclusions In AD, the presence of a lifetime history of depression corresponds to increases in AD-related neuropathological changes within the hippocampus. These changes go along with more rapid cognitive decline in patients with AD with a history of depression, and are more pronounced in patients with AD suffering from depression early on in the disease process, suggesting an interaction between major depression and AD neuropathology.
Key findings
- Objective To test the hypothesis that neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are more pronounced in the hippocampus of patients with AD with a lifetime history of major depressive disorder, as compared with patients with AD without depression history.
- Participants The brains of 52 patients with AD without a lifetime history of major depression were compared with the brains of 50 patients with AD with a lifetime history of major depression.
- Results Brains of patients with AD with a lifetime history of depression showed higher levels of both plaque (P<.005) and tangle (P<.002) formation within the hippocampus than brains of patients with AD without a history of depression.
- Post hoc analyses showed that patients with AD who had a history of depression exhibited more rapid cognitive decline than patients without a history of depression (P<.004).
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 (Archives of general psychiatry) |
| 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 | 2006 — 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 16461859) |
| 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 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Rapp, M. A., Schnaider-Beeri, M., Grossman, H. T., Sano, M., Perl, D. P., Purohit, D. P., et al. (2006). Increased hippocampal plaques and tangles in patients with Alzheimer disease with a lifetime history of major depression. Archives of general psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.63.2.161
Vancouver
Rapp MA, Schnaider-Beeri M, Grossman HT, Sano M, Perl DP, Purohit DP, et al. Increased hippocampal plaques and tangles in patients with Alzheimer disease with a lifetime history of major depression. Archives of general psychiatry. 2006. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.2.161. PMID: 16461859.
BibTeX
@article{rapp2006-16461859,
author = {Rapp, M. A. and Schnaider-Beeri, M. and Grossman, H. T. and Sano, M. and Perl, D. P. and Purohit, D. P. and Gorman, J. M. and Haroutunian, V.},
title = {{Increased hippocampal plaques and tangles in patients with Alzheimer disease with a lifetime history of major depression}},
journal = {Archives of general psychiatry},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1001/archpsyc.63.2.161},
pmid = {16461859},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.63.2.161}
}
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