clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Depression linked to Alzheimer's People who have had depression may be more prone to Alzheimer's disease, two studies suggest. Dutch researchers found Alzheimer's was 2.5 times more likely in people with a history of depression. However, the latest study found no difference in the size of these two brain areas in people with depression and people who had never developed the condition The researchers said their findings suggested that depression was a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease - rather than a subtle early sign of its underlying pathology They found that those with more signs of depression at the start of the study were more likely to develop Alzheimer's One theory is that depression leads to the loss of cells in two areas of the brain, the hippocampus and the amygdala, which then contributes to Alzheimer's disease It was four times more likely in people with depression before aged 60. Dutch and US research appeared in Neurology and Archives of General Psychiatry