Research targets depression in Alzheimer’s sufferers

Researchers have recently acquired the necessary funds to trial a new form of cognitive behavioural therapy that may succeed in treating depression for people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The University of Western Australia (UWA) Centre for Health and Ageing will trial the intervention as an alternative to traditional treatments of depression, such as antidepressants and psychotherapy, which have had little effect on people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Theodore and Isabella Wearne Charitable Trust donated $150,000 to finance the cause, enabling UWA to collect the preliminary data needed to continue research.

The UWA Centre for Health and Ageing research director and head of Psychiatry for Older Adults, Winthrop Professor Osvaldo Almeida said depression is a common complication occurring over the course of Alzheimer’s disease, with one in four sufferers presenting depressive symptoms.

With the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease on the rise and no cure on the horizon, Australia will be confronted with more and more depressed people suffering Alzheimer’s disease.

Professor Almeida said it is disheartening that we have not yet been able to come up with a safe and efficacious treatment for depression in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

But with preliminary data showing positive signs, the UWA Centre for Health and Ageing will trial the cognitive bias modification (CBM) intervention to see if depression can be treated in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

CBM uses a computer program to extinguish negative interpretations of ambiguity, common in people suffering depression.

“People who are depressed shift their attention to negative thoughts more rapidly than other people,” Professor Almeida said.

“CBM targets this predisposition towards a negative bias by repeatedly exposing people to ambiguity and ensuring the ambiguous sitatuion is always resolved in the positive.”

The CBM intervention relies on the implicit memory, which is well-preserved in people with Alzheimer’s disease, rather than the explicit, or short-term memory, which deteriorates as the disease progresses.

Professor Almeida said there are several reasons why people with Alzheimer’s are more prone to depression than other people.

“Coming to terms with the fact that you have a chronic disease that is likely to get worse, for which there is no available cure, is a significant life event,” he said.

“There is also evidence to suggest that people with Alzheimer’s disease who develop depression tend to lose cells in the brain that regulate moods.”

By shifting the negative bias to the positive, CBM works to lift mood, which not only enhances quality of life for the person with Alzheimer’s disease, but also for their carer.

Professor Almeida said that because progression of Alzheimer’s disease tends to be worse in people who suffer depression, if the CBM intervention is managed appropriately, it could also improve the clinical outcomes of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The CDM intervention runs for around two weeks with a daily training program. The patient will return for an assessment after three month to monitor efficacy of the trial.

If you are in WA, have received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and have noticed your moods worsening, you can contact The UWA Centre for Health and Ageing on:

08 9224 2855. 

Image: Professor Osvaldo Almeida. CONTRIBUTED.