Ropinirole for antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction.
Sexual dysfunction is a relatively common side-effect of antidepressants, occurring in approximately one-half of patients, and is associated with significant distress and treatment non-compliance. Dopaminergic agents have been reported to be helpful for the treatment of antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction and, in this report, we examined the efficacy of the dopamine agonist ropinirole for this indication. Thirteen patients (three women, 10 men), aged 42.6 +/- 7.7 years, who reported sexual dysfunction on a stable dose of antidepressant, were treated openly with ropinirole initiated at 0.25 mg/day and titrated up to 2-4 mg/day over 4 weeks, as tolerated. Ten of the 13 took ropinirole for at least 4 weeks, one discontinued due to an adverse event and two because of lack of response. Sexual dysfunction, as assessed by the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale scores, was reduced from 18.8 +/- 3.6 to 13.8 +/- 4.3 after 4 weeks on ropinirole at a mean dose of 2.1 mg/day. Overall, seven of 13 patients (54%) were rated as responders on the Clinical Global Impression of Improvement Scale. The addition of ropinirole may represent a potentially useful treatment strategy for antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction.
Worthington
J J
JJ
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114, USA. jworthington@partners.org
Simon
N M
NM
Korbly
N B
NB
Perlis
R H
RH
Pollack
M H
MH
D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001007:Anxiety; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D007211:Indoles; C046649:ropinirole