Depression in neurological diseases: a review

This overview is concerned with the neurobiology of depression, depression in Alzheimer's disease, post-stroke depression, depression in vascular dementia, depression in Parkinson disease and finally and very briefly with depression in epileptic patients. For each disease will be discussed the available epidemiological data on incidence and/or prevalence and when these appear conflicting the possible causes of the discrepancies will be analyzed. The specific association beetween each single pathological picture and the subtype of affective disorders will be reviewed. Furthermore the time course of depressive symptoms during the evolution of the diseases will be discussed. Finally insight will be provided on the possible anatomical and neurochemical causes that underlie depression in each single disease.