title: The association between late-life depression, mild cognitive impairment and dementia: is inflammation the missing link?
abstract: Depression, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia are highly prevalent conditions that are increasing exponentially with similarly expanding social, medical and economic burdens. While there is a clear clinical connection between these three disorders, the mechanism of action that links them is less well understood. The lack of well-accepted biomarkers results in high levels of diagnostic subjectivity, which then greatly impacts research results when attempting to further explore their association. There is also a variety of clinical presentations of depressive syndromes, particularly in the elderly; each one may be associated with a different risk in the progression from MCI to different types of dementia. The diagnostic challenges, the importance of biomarkers and the discussion of inflammation as a possible link between depression, MCI and dementia are examined in this article.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Wesley Woods Health Center, 4th Floor, 1841 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. ahermid@emory.edu
authors.forename: Adriana P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Hermida
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Steenland
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Levey
mesh_terms: D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology