Recent neuroimaging studies indicated that structural abnormalities may occur in late life depression, but the extent of these changes and their relationship to clinical and behavioral measures, especially inpatients presenting at primary care settings, remains unknown. The primary objective of this proposal is to examine the neuroanatomical and cerebrovascular basis of late life major depression in subjects presenting at geriatric primary care sites. We hypothesize that gray and white matter atrophy underlie late life major depression and structural changes in the white matter will correlate with cerebrovascular risk factors. While neuroanatomic studies provide us with a better understanding of normal and abnormal brain function, the integration of neuroanatomic data with clinical and behavioral measures is critical for a broader and more complete understanding of the pathogenesis of late life depression. This proposal will examine the relationship between global and focal structural changes and important variables such as cerebrovascular risk factors, age of onset of illness and sex differences in neuroanatomy. Neuroanatomic abnormalities alone are unlikely to be the sole cause of depression in late life and this study will help us examine the relative roles of anatomical changes, cerebrovascular risk factors and medical illness in the pathogenesis of late life major depression.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
7R01MH055115-04
Application #
6011967
Study Section
Mental Disorders of Aging Review Committee (MDA)
Project Start
1996-09-01
Project End
2001-04-30
Budget Start
1998-08-01
Budget End
1999-04-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
1998
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
119132785
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
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Watari, Kecia; Elderkin-Thompson, Virginia; Ajilore, Olu et al. (2008) Neuroanatomical correlates of executive functioning in depressed adults with type 2 diabetes. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 30:389-97
Nguyen, Thanh Tan; Wong, Tien Y; Islam, F M Amirul et al. (2008) Is depression associated with microvascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes? Depress Anxiety 25:E158-62
Ajilore, Olusola; Haroon, Ebrahim; Kumaran, Senthil et al. (2007) Measurement of brain metabolites in patients with type 2 diabetes and major depression using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Neuropsychopharmacology 32:1224-31
Lavretsky, Helen; Ballmaier, Martina; Pham, Daniel et al. (2007) Neuroanatomical characteristics of geriatric apathy and depression: a magnetic resonance imaging study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 15:386-94

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