Effects of antidepressant treatment on cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s disease
Depression is a commonly observed manifestation during the clinical course of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Its presence varies between the appearance of depressive symptoms and the development, less usually, of a major depressive episode. Although the etiopathogenic relationship between the two entities is still not sufficiently clear, it is known that they share some common neurobiological bases. It is recognized that cognitive impairment is a core manifestation of depressive disorders not associated with a dementia process and that depression coexisting with AD causes significant negative consequences and has been associated, in turn, with more rapid cognitive decline. In clinical practice, antidepressants are frequently used to treat depression in AD, although a large proportion of individuals do not respond to pharmacological treatment. For this reason, there are currently lines of research that have advanced to the development of new drugs that constitute promising therapeutic options that have, in addition to their antidepressant effect, the potential to improve cognitive function in patients with AD.