Abstract
In a prospective study of depressed elderly patients referred for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), subcortical white matter hyperintensity (WMH) was seen in all 51 patients 60 years or older who received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prior to treatment. In over half of the patients the WMH was formally rated as at least moderately severe, and it was commonly associated with other structural brain changes. The majority (80%) of patients had late-age-onset depression, suggesting that structural brain changes may interact with aging to facilitate the emergency of depression in late life.
Publication types
-
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
-
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
-
Aged
-
Aged, 80 and over
-
Atrophy
-
Bipolar Disorder / diagnosis*
-
Bipolar Disorder / psychology
-
Bipolar Disorder / therapy
-
Brain / pathology*
-
Brain Damage, Chronic / diagnosis
-
Brain Damage, Chronic / psychology
-
Brain Damage, Chronic / therapy
-
Cerebral Cortex / pathology
-
Cerebral Ventricles / pathology
-
Dementia / diagnosis*
-
Dementia / psychology
-
Dementia / therapy
-
Depressive Disorder / diagnosis*
-
Depressive Disorder / psychology
-
Depressive Disorder / therapy
-
Dominance, Cerebral / physiology
-
Electroconvulsive Therapy
-
Female
-
Humans
-
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
-
Male
-
Middle Aged