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Depression May Be Early Sign Of Parkinson's Disease

Source: American Academy of Neurology
Date: April 27, 2007
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0427182547.htm

Science Daily — Depression may be an early symptom of Parkinson's disease, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston.

The study looked at whether people who are taking antidepressant medications are more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than people who are not taking the medications. It found that, in the year before their Parkinson's disease was diagnosed, people who were taking antidepressants were nearly twice as likely to develop Parkinson's disease as those who were not taking antidepressants.

"This should not be interpreted as evidence that antidepressants cause Parkinson's disease," said Miguel Hernan, MD, DrPH, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "The relationship is only apparent in the year before the onset of the disease, which suggests that depression is an early symptom of the disease."

For the study, researchers examined a database of more than three million people in the United Kingdom and identified 1,052 people with Parkinson's disease and matched them with 6,634 people without the disease. Then they looked at antidepressant use before the onset of Parkinson's disease.

The increased risk of developing Parkinson's in the year before diagnosis was true for both men and women, across age groups, and for those who used both types of antidepressants, tricyclic antidepressants and SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Academy of Neurology.

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Depression Before Parkinson's Disease?
Study Suggests That Depression May Precede Parkinson's Diagnosis

April 27, 2007
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n2737635.shtml

(WebMD) Depression may sometimes precede Parkinson's disease, a new study shows.

The researchers — who included Miguel Hernan, M.D., Dr.PH, of the Harvard School of Public Health — used a medical database of more than 3 million people in the U.K.

The researchers compared data on 1,052 Parkinson's disease patients to more than 6,600 people of similar backgrounds who didn't have Parkinson's disease. Prescription data show that people currently taking antidepressants were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson's disease as people who had never used antidepressants.

Quote: "This should not be interpreted as evidence that antidepressants cause Parkinson's disease." ~~Miguel Hernan, M.D., researcher

The pattern applied to people taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants. Past use of antidepressants wasn't linked to Parkinson's disease, the study shows. However, "this should not be interpreted as evidence that antidepressants cause Parkinson's disease," Hernan says in an American Academy of Neurology news release.

The findings were limited to antidepressant use in the year before Parkinson's diagnosis, "suggesting that depression can be an early symptom" of Parkinson's disease, write the researchers.

The study doesn't prove that depression causes Parkinson's disease. It also doesn't mean that depression always leads to Parkinson's disease.

The study will be presented in Boston on May 1 at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting.

By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D.