This paper looked at whether differences in Alzheimer biomarkers (brain imaging and cerebrospinal fluid from a lumbar puncture) predict changes in mood in cognitively normal adults who have no signs of memory or thinking problems. We wanted to see if those adults who have more abnormal measurements of these biomarkers would have more changes in their mood.
Along with the biomarkers, we looked at measurements of mood, depression, memory, and thinking. We had data from 118 participants at their first visit and 66 participants at both their first and second visit. We found that there was no difference in mood between participants with normal vs abnormal biomarker levels at their baseline/first visit. However, when we looked at the change in mood over the next year, we saw more mood change in those who had more abnormal Alzheimer biomarkers, even though there was no change in their cognitive functioning. We want to continue looking at these changes over additional years to see how mood is affected by changes in the brain.
For more information: Click here