BACKGROUND: Nearly two-thirds of elderly patients treated for depression fail to achieve symptomatic remission and functional recovery with first-line pharmacotherapy. In this study, we ask whether a mind-body exercise, Tai Chi Chih (TCC), added to escitalopram will augment the treatment of geriatric depression designed to achieve symptomatic remission and improvements in health functioning and cognitive performance. METHODS: : One hundred twelve older adults with major depression age 60 years and older were recruited and treated with escitalopram for approximately 4 weeks. Seventy-three partial responders to escitalopram continued to receive escitalopram daily and were randomly assigned to 10 weeks of adjunct use of either 1) TCC for 2 hours per week or 2) health education (HE) for 2 hours per week. All participants underwent evaluations of depression, anxiety, resilience, health-related quality of life, cognition, and inflammation at baseline and during 14-week follow-up. RESULTS: Subjects in the escitalopram and TCC condition were more likely to show greater reduction of depressive symptoms and to achieve a depression remission as compared with those receiving escitalopram and HE. Subjects in the escitalopram and TCC condition also showed significantly greater improvements in 36-Item Short Form Health Survey physical functioning and cognitive tests and a decline in the inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein, compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: : Complementary use of a mind-body exercise, such as TCC, may provide additional improvements of clinical outcomes in the pharmacologic treatment of geriatric depression.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Nearly two-thirds of elderly patients treated for depression fail to achieve symptomatic remission and functional recovery with first-line pharmacotherapy. In this study, we ask whether a mind-body exercise, Tai Chi Chih (TCC), added to escitalopram will augment the treatment of geriatric depression designed to achieve symptomatic remission and improvements in health functioning and cognitive performance. METHODS: : One hundred twelve older adults with major depression age 60 years and older were recruited and treated with escitalopram for approximately 4 weeks. Seventy-three partial responders to escitalopram continued to receive escitalopram daily and were randomly assigned to 10 weeks of adjunct use of either 1) TCC for 2 hours per week or 2) health education (HE) for 2 hours per week. All participants underwent evaluations of depression, anxiety, resilience, health-related quality of life, cognition, and inflammation at baseline and during 14-week follow-up. RESULTS: Subjects in the escitalopram and TCC condition were more likely to show greater reduction of depressive symptoms and to achieve a depression remission as compared with those receiving escitalopram and HE. Subjects in the escitalopram and TCC condition also showed significantly greater improvements in 36-Item Short Form Health Survey physical functioning and cognitive tests and a decline in the inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein, compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: : Complementary use of a mind-body exercise, such as TCC, may provide additional improvements of clinical outcomes in the pharmacologic treatment of geriatric depression.
Authors: Anne S Mather; Cesar Rodriguez; Moyra F Guthrie; Anne M McHarg; Ian C Reid; Marion E T McMurdo Journal: Br J Psychiatry Date: 2002-05 Impact factor: 9.319
Authors: C N Alexander; R H Schneider; F Staggers; W Sheppard; B M Clayborne; M Rainforth; J Salerno; K Kondwani; S Smith; K G Walton; B Egan Journal: Hypertension Date: 1996-08 Impact factor: 10.190
Authors: Dennis S Charney; Charles B Nemeroff; Lydia Lewis; Sally K Laden; Jack M Gorman; Eugene M Laska; Michael Borenstein; Charles L Bowden; Arthur Caplan; Graham J Emslie; Dwight L Evans; Barbara Geller; Lenore E Grabowski; Jay Herson; Ned H Kalin; Paul E Keck; Irving Kirsch; K Ranga R Krishnan; David J Kupfer; Robert W Makuch; Franklin G Miller; Herbert Pardes; Robert Post; Mildred M Reynolds; Laura Roberts; Jerrold F Rosenbaum; Donald L Rosenstein; David R Rubinow; A John Rush; Neal D Ryan; Gary S Sachs; Alan F Schatzberg; Susan Solomon Journal: Arch Gen Psychiatry Date: 2002-03
Authors: D R Brown; Y Wang; A Ward; C B Ebbeling; L Fortlage; E Puleo; H Benson; J M Rippe Journal: Med Sci Sports Exerc Date: 1995-05 Impact factor: 5.411
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Authors: Michael R Irwin; Richard Olmstead; Carmen Carrillo; Nina Sadeghi; Elizabeth C Breen; Tuff Witarama; Megumi Yokomizo; Helen Lavretsky; Judith E Carroll; Sarosh J Motivala; Richard Bootzin; Perry Nicassio Journal: Sleep Date: 2014-09-01 Impact factor: 5.849