Abstract
Depressive disorders are a frequent psychiatric comorbidity in patients with neurologic disease with prevalence rates ranging between 30% and 50%. Yet, despite their relative high prevalence, they remain underrecognized and undertreated.
Depressive disorders can have a negative impact on the course and response to treatment of several neurologic disorders, including stroke, migraine, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's dementia. This chapter reviews some of the evidence and tries to make the case of why neurologists should care to recognize early the presence of a comorbid depressive disorder and facilitate its treatment.