Post-stroke depression
Post-stroke depression (PSD) is considered the most frequent and important neuropsychiatric consequence of stroke. Approximately one-third of stroke survivors experience major depression. Moreover, this condition can have an adverse effect on cognitive function, functional recovery and survival.
Mechanism
The scientific community is divided into two “camps” supporting opposing views: some propose a primary biological mechanism with stroke affecting neural circuits involved in mood regulation which in turn causes post-stroke depression, while other researchers claim that post stroke depression is caused by social and psychological stressors that emerge as a result of stroke.
While an integrated bio-psycho-social model including both biological and psychosocial aspects of post stroke depression seems warranted, a number of studies clearly suggest that biological mechanisms play a major role in the development of post stroke depression.
- stroke patients show a higher rate of depression compared to orthopedic patients with disabilities of comparable severity.
- Several studies proposed an association with specific lesions (left anterior and basal ganglia lesions and lesions close to frontal pole) and occurrence of post stroke depression.
- Some studies reported an association between post-stroke mania and right orbital frontal, basotemporal, basal ganglia lesions.
- It has been shown that patients with anosognosia who are unaware of their disability still develop post stroke depression.
Despite this evidence, the association of post-stroke depression to specific brain lesions is still vague and needs replication from various independent groups. Furthermore, the cause of post stroke depression at a functional level is not clear.
The only biological model was proposed by Robinson and co-workers: They hypothesized that the depletion of monoaminergic amines occurring after stroke play a role in post stroke-depression. They point out that norepinephrinergic and serotonergic nuclei send projections to the frontal cortex and arc posteriorly, running through the deep layers of the cortex, where they arborize and send terminal projections into the superficial cortical layers. These norepinephrinergic and serotoninergic pathways are disrupted in basal ganglia and frontal lobe lesions – sites that are shown to be associated with post stroke depression. Additionally, depletion in dopamine (due to pallidal lesions) can trigger anhedonia and avolition.[1]
However, this model is far from being universally accepted and there are serious objections both to their model and findings showing the association between post-stroke depression and lesion sites. Depression-like behaviors are demonstrated in a mouse model of cortical intracerebral hemorrhage.[2]
Diagnosis
Definition
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) IV categorizes post-stroke depression as “mood disorder due to a general medical condition” (i.e. stroke) with the specifiers of depressive features, major depressive-like episodes, manic features, or mixed features.[3] Utilizing patient data from acute hospital admission, community surveys, or out patient clinics previous studies have identified two types of depressive disorders associated with cerebral ischemia: major depression, which occurs in up to 25% of patients; and minor depression, which has been defined for research purposes by DSM-IV criteria as a depressed mood or loss of interest and at least two but fewer than four symptoms of major depression. Minor depression occurs in up to 30% of patients following stroke.
Prevalence
Prevalence clearly varies over time with an apparent peak 3–6 months after stroke and subsequent decline in prevalence at one-year reaches about to 50% of initial rates. Robinson and colleagues characterized the natural course of major depression after stroke with spontaneous remission typically 1 to 2 years after stroke. However, it was also noted that in few cases depression becomes chronic and may persist more than 3 years following stroke. On the other hand, minor depression appeared to be more variable, with both short term and long term depression occurring in these patients.
Post-stroke depression is highly prevalent among both men and women. However, it appears that post-stroke depression is more common in women when prevalence is compared between the sexes.[5]
Women were twice as likely to experience post-stroke depression than men. It is hypothesized, based on CT scanning, that of the two sexes experiencing post-stroke depression, women who had post-stroke depression had a higher rate of left hemisphere lesions than men.[6] However, risk of post-stroke depression can not be determined effectively based on the location of the lesion in the brain and more research in this area is needed.[7]
It has also been postulated that the risk of developing post-stroke depression in male patients is partly linked to having a high level of limitations and disability in functioning, especially in performing activities of daily living (ADL's), as a result of their stroke; the greater the limitation, the greater the severity.[6] Risk of developing depression post-stroke in women is partly linked to a history of psychological disorders as well as limitations involving cognition as a result of their stroke.[6]
References
- Miller, Jeffrey M.; Vorel, Stanislav R.; Tranguch, Anthony J.; Kenny, Edward T.; Mazzoni, Pietro; van Gorp, Wilfred G.; Kleber, Herbert D. (May 2006). "Anhedonia After a Selective Bilateral Lesion of the Globus Pallidus". American Journal of Psychiatry. 163 (5): 786–788. doi:10.1176/ajp.2006.163.5.786. PMID 16648316.
- Zhu, Wei; Gao, Yufeng; Chang, Che-Feng; Wan, Jie-Ru; Zhu, Shan-Shan; Wang, Jian (15 May 2014). "Mouse models of intracerebral hemorrhage in ventricle, cortex, and hippocampus by injections of autologous blood or collagenase". PLOS ONE. 9 (5): e97423. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...997423Z. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0097423. PMC 4022524. PMID 24831292.
- American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Press.
- When diagnosing depression, doctors usually look for the presence of five or more symptoms that have persisted for at least two weeks. Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a common and debilitating complication of stroke, affecting up to one-third of stroke survivors. The diagnosis of PSD is based on clinical evaluation and often requires the use of validated screening tools. One commonly used tool is the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), which is a self-report questionnaire that assesses the severity of depression symptoms. The BDI is a reliable and valid tool for assessing depression in stroke patients. In addition to the BDI, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) is also commonly used to assess depression severity. Clinical evaluation for PSD typically includes a thorough medical history and physical examination to rule out other medical conditions that may be contributing to the patient's symptoms. It is important to consider that some symptoms of depression, such as fatigue, may overlap with other post-stroke complications, such as post-stroke fatigue. Neuroimaging studies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scans, may also be used to evaluate the extent and location of brain damage caused by the stroke, which can help to understand the patient's clinical presentation and inform treatment decisions. https://itshealthilyeverafter.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=860&action
- Poynter, Brittany; Shuman, Mira; Diaz-Granados, Natalia; Kapral, Moira; Grace, Sherry L.; Stewart, Donna E. (November 2009). "Sex differences in the prevalence of post-stroke depression: A systematic review". Psychosomatics. 50 (6): 563–569. doi:10.1176/appi.psy.50.6.563. hdl:10315/24309. PMID 19996226.
- Paradiso, Sergio; Robinson, Robert G. (Winter 1998). "Gender Differences in Poststroke Depression". Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 10 (1): 41–47. doi:10.1176/jnp.10.1.41. PMID 9547465.
- Carson, Alan J.; MacHale, Siobhan; Allen, Kathryn; Lawrie, Stephen M.; Dennis, Martin; House, Allan; Sharpe, Michael (8 July 2000). "Depression after stroke and lesion location: a systematic review". The Lancet. 356 (9224): 122–126. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02448-X. PMID 10963248. S2CID 24968663.
Sources
- Gainotti, G; Azzoni, A; Marra, C (August 1999). "Frequency, phenomenology and anatomical-clinical correlates of major post-stroke depression". British Journal of Psychiatry. 175 (2): 163–167. doi:10.1192/bjp.175.2.163. PMID 10627800. S2CID 9931981.
- Gainotti, Guido; Marra, Camillo (February 2002). "Determinants and consequences of post stroke depression". Current Opinion in Neurology. 15 (1): 85–89. doi:10.1097/00019052-200202000-00013. PMID 11796955. S2CID 15314498.
- Robinson, RG; Starksein, SE (Winter 1990). "Current research in affective disorders following stroke". Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 2 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1176/jnp.2.1.1. PMID 2136055.
- Robinson, Robert G.; Starr, Lyn Book; Kubos, Kenneth L.; Price, Thomas R. (September 1983). "A Two year longitudinal study of post-stroke mood disorders: findings during the initial evaluation". Stroke. 14 (5): 736–744. doi:10.1161/01.str.14.5.736. PMID 6658957.