Platelet MAO activity in geriatric patients with depression and dementia

Abstract

The authors studied platelet MAO activity in psychiatrically hospitalized geriatric patients with depression and dementia. Platelet MAO activity was higher in demented patients with and without depression and in depressed patients with reversible dementia than in nondemented depressed patients. The data suggest that abnormally high platelet MAO activity may reflect a predisposition to the development of a dementia syndrome.