Depression May Be Early Sign of Parkinson's Disease

We know that dopamine plays a role in both illnesses, so it makes sense that a link between the two exists. I find it surprising that it's taken this long for the connection to be shown in a study. I think this information will be considered essential in the future and may result in the faster diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.

From CBC News:
In some cases, depression can be an early manifestation of Parkinson's disease, new research suggests.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health compared antidepressant use among more than 1,000 individuals with Parkinson's disease to more than 6,600 age- and gender-matched individuals without the degenerative neurological illness.

They found that people currently on antidepressants had an 80 percent higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease than those who had never taken antidepressants. This was true for both men and women, regardless of age or the class of antidepressant used. ...more