Update on treatment for depression

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A report from one of the largest studies of its kind shows that treatment with antidepressants is effective for nearly half of those receiving them.
Depression can be hard to treat and it also tends to recur. A new study from researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center covering nearly 3,000 patients shows that a third of patients with major depression treated with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fully recovered from their symptoms. Another 10 to 15 per cent showed at least some response.

The highest response came from white, female, employed patients with higher levels of income or education. These results come from just the first phase of this four phase study which is one of the largest of its kind. It is important because it covers patients both in primary care and those being treated by a psychiatrist. As such, it's very much a 'real world' study.

Patients who did not respond to the drug they were given in this first phase of the study were invited into the second phase and offered alternative medications. The next reports will give us an even fuller picture on the best way to treat depression.

Source
American Journal of Psychiatry January 2006

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