Advances in the neurobiology of late-life depression

Late-life depression is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders in the elderly. Its clinical presentation is heterogeneous and has some distinctive features from depression in adults. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that patients with late-life depression present significant abnormalities in several neurobiological cascades. Among them, inflammatory, neuroendocrine and neurotrophic cascades are of paramount importance. In the present text, we revise the evidence of the involvement of these cascades in the physiopathology of late-life depression and the potential of the associated molecules (such as cytokines, neurotrophic factors and hormones) as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. The search for valid biomarkers of late-life depression is warranted as they may contribute to correct diagnostic classification and to predict clinical outcome, as well as to improve our understanding about the neurobiology of this disorder.