Showing papers on "Treatment-resistant depression published in 1987"
TL;DR: It is hypothesize that lithium may potentiate the antidepressant effect of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) even if it is administered as a short course of treatment.
Abstract: A patient with a treatment-resistant depression of 15 months duration is reported. Initially he showed no response to clomipramine 150 mg daily for 1 month. When lithium carbonate 600 mg daily was added for 4 days he developed signs of lithium intoxication: drowsiness, confusion, and dystonia. After lithium was withdrawn the patient improved dramatically. We hypothesize that lithium may potentiate the antidepressant effect of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) even if it is administered as a short course of treatment.
5 citations
TL;DR: It was indeed disappointing that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was presented as a secondary treatment, especially in a paper on treatment resistant depression, which outlined a well documented approach for treating depression in the elderly.
Abstract: To the Editor:-Goff’s and Jenike’s article on treatment resistant depression in the elderly, printed in the Journal January 1986, did a fine job of summarizing current research relating to the treatment of depression in the elderly. They outlined a well documented approach for treating depression in the elderly, but ignored current data on the use of the dexamethasone suppression test in the diagnosis of depression.’ It would appear that the use of such biological data in formulating a concept of treatment-resistance is essential. It was indeed disappointing that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was presented as a secondary treatment, especially in a paper on treatment resistant depression. There are ample studies indicating that ECT could in fact be considered the treatment of choice for specific forms of dep re~s ion .~ ,~ Borson and Raskind in an editorial two months later focus on the Goff and Jenike paper by defining the subject as antidepressant resistant depression, printed in the Journal March 1986. With that narrower focus, ECT was not mentioned. In data that Borson and Raskind present, the risks of antidepressant therapy are documented. It would therefore be evident that a two-week or longer trial of antidepressant therapy in an elderly person would have many inherent risks. The use of ECT, when indicated, initially or earlier could avoid these risks. A study comparing the qualitative and quantitative differences between ECT and antidepressant medication for the treatment of depression in the elderly is far overdo.
1 citations