动脉硬化也会触发老人抑郁症

http://www.100md.com 2001年7月26日 家庭医生医疗保健网

     路透社纽约健康消息 人们知道，老年抑郁症可以增加心脏病和中风的发病危险。新的研究发现，反过来，动脉疾病也可以触发老年人抑郁症。

    抑郁症和其它慢性疾病之间的关系很复杂，许多中风过后的病人会产生抑郁症状。抑郁往往又是酿成病人第二次中风的主要因素。现在，一项根据40例尸体解剖的研究证明，脑动脉硬化、狭窄也会导致抑郁症。研究员解剖20名抑郁症患者和20名非抑郁症患者的尸体，他们的死亡年龄均在60岁以上。结果发现，抑郁症患者更容易有动脉疾病，主要是脑动脉疾病。这一结论是排除了心脏病、高血压及糖尿病的影响后得出的。

    研究结果认为，脑血管中的小血栓可能是引起老年人抑郁症的因素，血栓在大脑不同区域阻碍信息的上传也许能解释血栓同抑郁症之间的关系。由于血栓可以引起中风，因此可以推测，各种防治中风危险因素的方法也许可以减轻抑郁症。

    如果这项最新的发现能被其他的研究所证实的话，患有抑郁症的老年人就需要检查是否也有动脉的病变。

    Hardened Arteries May Cause Depression

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While depression in old age has been linked to the risk of heart disease and stroke, new research suggests there is a role-reversal in some cases--artery disease may trigger depression in some elderly people.

    The relationship between depression and other chronic conditions is complex. For instance, many people suffer depression after having a stroke. And research suggests that depression may be a major risk factor for having a second stroke. Now a study based on the autopsies of 40 people suggests that hardened, narrowed arteries in the brain may contribute to depression.

    The investigators looked at the autopsies of 20 people who had been diagnosed with major depression and compared them with those of 20 people with no history of depression. All had been age 60 or older when they died. Thomas and colleagues found that the depressed subjects were more likely to have had diseased arteries--mainly in the brain--compared with the non-depressed subjects. The link held even when the researchers considered other conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

    Study results published last year suggested small blockages in the brain‘s blood vessels may cause depression in some older people. Those researchers, who looked at nearly 3,700 patients, hypothesized that the blockages interrupted signaling among different brain areas, possibly explaining their relation to depression. Since the blockages could lead to stroke, that report suggested that treating stroke risk factors may relieve depression.

    If the current findings are confirmed by other studies, older people with depression may need to be screened for artery disease, Thomas and his colleagues conclude.

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