Anti-amyloid drugs for Alzheimer's disease: considering the role of depression.

Depressive symptoms are the second most common neuropsychiatric symptom (NPS) in dementia, and there are compelling arguments linking depression and amyloid deposition in the brain. Clinical trials on anti-amyloid treatment are primarily focused on cognitive and functional decline: participants with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and significant psychiatric symptoms are typically excluded from anti-amyloid treatment, and the amelioration of depressive symptomatology is not considered as an outcome. The aim of this opinion article is to analyze whether, given the known association between depression and AD, people with depression should still be excluded from anti-amyloid treatment. Considering the scenario of their inclusion, we shall analyze which factors might interfere with the proper functioning of the anti-amyloid treatment.