Retreatment for relapse following desipramine discontinuation in dysthymia.
OBJECTIVE
It is an accepted yet unproven belief that prior favorable response to an antidepressant medication predicts good response to the same antidepressant during a subsequent depressive episode. The authors studied desipramine retreatment for dysthymic patients who had responded to desipramine during acute and continuation treatment and then subsequently relapsed after discontinuation of desipramine.


METHODS
The subjects were 12 patients who had pure dysthymia or dysthymia with major depression who relapsed while taking placebo during maintenance treatment. Each patient received open desipramine treatment at a dose equal to or greater than that received during the continuation phase.


RESULTS
Eleven (91.7%) of the 12 relapsed patients achieved full remission after an average of 4.7 weeks (range = 2-8 weeks, median = 4 weeks) of desipramine retreatment, a significant response rate.


CONCLUSIONS
Positive response to desipramine strongly predicts favorable response to retreatment for depressive relapse following desipramine discontinuation.
Friedman
R A
RA
Payne Whitney Clinic, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, NY 10021, USA.
Mitchell
J
J
Kocsis
J H
JH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D003891:Desipramine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010919:Placebos; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D010919:Placebos; D003891:Desipramine