De Marchi F, et al. - Researchers analyzed the incidence of depression in Italian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients before diagnosis and its prevalence in patients with and without cognitive dysfunctions. For this investigation, 318 patients were included; 40 patients with ALS had been diagnosed with depression before diagnosis and among them, 29 patients had cognitive impairment over the course of the disease and only 11 didn't develop any cognitive changes. In order to evaluate executive functions, behavior, language and memory, patients had a complete battery of neuropsychological tests. In the past, patients with ALS and cognitive impairment were reported to have a high prevalence of depression vs patients without cognitive deficits; patients with both also had a shorter survival time. A multidisciplinary approach is needed at the onset of the disease.