title: Follow-up study of depression in the elderly. Clinical and SPECT data.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Imaging studies in depression of the elderly are often small and highly selective.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate a large group of elderly depressed patients in order to assess changes in clinical, imaging and neuropsychological variables at follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients (n = 175, age range 65-91 years) with clinical depression were identified from consecutive local referrals. Clinical interviews, neuropsychological tests and SPECT scans were carried out at referral and at two-year follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 84 re-examined patients, 46.5% were well, 9.5% were ill, 33% partially recovered and 11% had developed dementia. Duration of illness before index assessment was the only factor to predict outcome. Thirty-nine patients could be scanned and followed up. There were no differences between patients with good or poor depressive outcome on SPECT. Ten clinically improved patients could be re-examined with SPECT. There were relative increases in right cingulate gyrus and right cerebellum at follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The patients group was comparable with other studies showing high levels of residual depressive symptoms. Activity changes in limbic cortex are implicated in depression of old age.
authors.affiliation: MRC Brain Metabolism Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Halloran
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Prentice
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: O'Carroll
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Glabus
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Goodwin
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Ebmeier
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D003704:Dementia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents