BACKGROUND: Depression is frequently found in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of escitalopram in treating major and minor depression in AMD patients. METHODS: We conducted a crossover, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 16-week study comparing escitalopram with placebo. Inclusion criteria included reduced vision from AMD and major or minor depression, with a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) score of ≥10. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either escitalopram or placebo for 8 weeks and then crossed over to the other treatment. The primary outcome was change on the total HAMD-17 score with escitalopram treatment compared with placebo. RESULTS: We enrolled 16 AMD patients (mean age 79.1), 12 with major depression and 4 with minor depression. Mean HAMD-17 score at enrollment was 16.1 ± 4.2, and mean visual acuity in the better eye was 20/70. During escitalopram treatment, participants showed a significant reduction in HAMD-17 scores compared with placebo treatment (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest escitalopram may be an effective treatment for depressive symptoms associated with major or minor depression in AMD patients with vision loss.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND:Depression is frequently found in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of escitalopram in treating major and minor depression in AMDpatients. METHODS: We conducted a crossover, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 16-week study comparing escitalopram with placebo. Inclusion criteria included reduced vision from AMD and major or minor depression, with a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) score of ≥10. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either escitalopram or placebo for 8 weeks and then crossed over to the other treatment. The primary outcome was change on the total HAMD-17 score with escitalopram treatment compared with placebo. RESULTS: We enrolled 16 AMDpatients (mean age 79.1), 12 with major depression and 4 with minor depression. Mean HAMD-17 score at enrollment was 16.1 ± 4.2, and mean visual acuity in the better eye was 20/70. During escitalopram treatment, participants showed a significant reduction in HAMD-17 scores compared with placebo treatment (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest escitalopram may be an effective treatment for depressive symptoms associated with major or minor depression in AMDpatients with vision loss.
Authors: B D Lebowitz; J L Pearson; L S Schneider; C F Reynolds; G S Alexopoulos; M L Bruce; Y Conwell; I R Katz; B S Meyers; M F Morrison; J Mossey; G Niederehe; P Parmelee Journal: JAMA Date: 1997-10-08 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Barbara L Brody; Anne-Catherine Roch-Levecq; Robert M Kaplan; Christine Y Moutier; Stuart I Brown Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2006-10 Impact factor: 5.562
Authors: Jay C Fournier; Robert J DeRubeis; Steven D Hollon; Sona Dimidjian; Jay D Amsterdam; Richard C Shelton; Jan Fawcett Journal: JAMA Date: 2010-01-06 Impact factor: 56.272