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Major depressive disorder is common in the elderly, and symptoms are often not responsive to conventional antidepressant treatment, especially in the long term. Soluble oligomeric and aggregated forms of amyloid beta peptides, especially amyloid beta 42, impair neuronal and synaptic function. Amyloid beta 42 is the main component of plaques and is implicated in Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid beta peptides also induce a depressive state in rodents and disrupt major neurotransmitter systems linked to depression. The authors assessed whether major depression was associated with CSF levels of amyloid beta, tau protein, and F2-isoprostanes in elderly individuals with major depressive disorder and age-matched nondepressed comparison subjects.

CSF was obtained from 47 cognitively intact volunteers (major depression group, N=28; comparison group, N=19) and analyzed for levels of …