Key features of depression and its management in general practice.
 
 

"..I'd like to return to work.."

 
1. Depression in the elderly is associated with vascular lesion of the prefrontal areas of the brain.
2. Depression in the elderly is often associated with impairment of executive functions.
3. Functional disability is a predictor of depression in the elderly.
4. Late-onset depression is often associated with cognitive impairment.
5. Cognitive impairment that is reversed by antidepressant treatment is predictive of irreversible dementia.
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5. Cognitive impairment that is reversed by antidepressant treatment is predictive of irreversible dementia.

Author's answer: True.

Late-life depression with cognitive impairment that is reversed by antidepressant treatment more often than not is a predictor of the development of an irreversible dementia, such as Alzheimer disease or vascular dementia.