Determining Changes in Brain Structure Associated With Symptoms of Late-life Depression

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study will determine the changes in brain structure and function that are responsible for mood and cognition changes that are sometimes associated with late-life depression.

Detailed Description
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The goal of this research study is to investigate the relationships among late-life depression (LLD), cognitive impairment and progressive neurodegeneration. The guiding hypothesis is that LLD patients have evolving cognitive impairments as a consequence of distinct underlying neuropathological changes, which frequently are expressed as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). These neuropathological and cognitive changes are risk modifiers, lowering brain reserve capacity, and in turn, increasing risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In order to pursue this goal we will enroll LLD, MCI, and normal control subjects to enrich our existing cohort to include a total of 150 elderly, non-demented, non-depressed subjects, 60 non-depressed MCI subjects and 270 LLD subjects. Using the joint infrastructure of the University of Pittsburgh's Advanced Center for Intervention and Services Research for Late-Life Mood Disorders and the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, we will complete a detailed neurobehavioral evaluation, including clinical, neuropsychological, neuroimaging and biological markers, using these data to evaluate the factors associated with the development of MCI or dementia. Subjects will be studied annually for at least three years, allowing us to use longitudinal data to evaluate a series of linked hypotheses that postulate the pathways by which elderly, depressed patients develop cognitive impairment, and which may lead some to develop dementia.

Official Title
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Pathways Linking Late-Life Depression to MCI & Dementia

Conditions
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Late-Life Depression

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Diagnosis of a mood disorder Exclusion Criteria: Major acute medical illnesses or injuries known to have significant direct effects on cognitive functioning (e.g., metastatic cancer, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury). Uncorrectable sensory handicap (e.g., blindness), because they are unable to complete the cognitive test battery. Exclusion criteria for MR scans include: cardiac pacemaker, aneurysm clip, cochlear implant, pregnancy, IUD, shrapnel, history of metal fragments in the eye, neurostimulators, weight of 250 lbs. or more, or claustrophobia.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 55 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Changes in performance on a broad-based Neuropsychological Test Battery | Changes in z-scores of the language, visuospatial, attention, memory and executive cognitive domains | 3 years | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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late-life depression, mild cognitive impairment, dementia