Are Anxiety and Depression Indicators for Future Alzheimer's?

According to a new study, it has been discovered that Alzheimer’s doesn’t suddenly appear in the patient. Instead, the mechanisms behind the disease have been reported to commence at least 10 to 20 years before initial dementia symptoms become apparent. These mechanisms suggest that the presence of both depression or anxiety is an important factor to consider, as it can reveal the existence of an underlying developing dementia in the patient.

This discovery is quite important, as one of the main difficulties when dealing with Alzheimer’s is that, by the time a diagnosis is successfully established, the patient’s brain has already been greatly and irreversibly damaged. Also, considering that this condition has no cure, identifying it as fast as possible becomes quintessential to secure the patient’s quality of life for as long as possible.