Link Found: Age-Related Brain Change and Depression
Researchers have identified a link between the accumulation of the protein tau in the brain and the development of depressive symptoms in cognitively healthy older adults. The study suggests that monitoring these mood changes could serve as an early indicator for neurodegenerative risks before cognitive impairment sets in.
Why it matters
This discovery could lead to earlier diagnostic tools for Alzheimer's disease by using mood trajectories as a clinical biomarker.
During typical aging and Alzheimer's disease progression, higher levels of a protein called tau are associated with more depressive symptoms. New in JNeurosci, Teodora Markova, from Brandeis University, and colleagues explored the relationship between tau levels and depressive symptoms in older people with and without cognitive (memory, attention, and thinking) deficits that characterize Alzheimer's disease.
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