Healthy Living: Is it Alzheimer's or depression? When it comes
to the aging mind and forgetfulness you might consider: is it
Alzheimer's or can it be something that is managed, or even
cured? As Marcie Fraser reports, you have to rule out
depression. To view our videos, you need to install Adobe Flash
9 or above. Install now. Then come back here and refresh the
page. Because symptoms of Alzheimer's and depression are very
similar, a wrong diagnosis can be costly. "Chronic depression
can cause a structure in your brain to shrink, and that
structure is called the hippocampus and that structure is
responsible for new learning and remembering," said psychologist
Dr. Shannon Gould. While depression can be treated and often
cured, Alzheimer's can only be managed. An early diagnosis means
early treatment. Neuropsychological evaluations can help
determine if it’s dementia or depression. "We are looking at
attention, concentration, processing speed. I may have my
patients read a short story and recall as much of that