An 8-week open-label trial of a 6-day course of mifepristone for the treatment of psychotic depression.
OBJECTIVE
Several investigations suggest that mifepristone leads to the rapid amelioration of psychotic depression. However, these studies were of short duration (1 week or less) and included subjects who were taking other psychotropic medications. The goals of this study were to extend these findings by conducting an 8-week trial of mifepristone for subjects with psychotic depression who were taking no concomitant psychiatric medications.


METHODS
Twenty subjects with a DSM-IV major depressive episode with psychotic features (for convenience we use the term psychotic depression) taking no psychotropic medications were given a 6-day course of mifepristone and followed as inpatients for a total of 8 weeks. Nonblinded ratings using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and Clinical Global Impressions scale (CGI) were performed at baseline and at the end of weeks 1, 4, and 8. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was also administered at baseline and after weeks 4 and 8. Subjects were recruited between February 2003 and December 2003.


RESULTS
Significant improvements in HAM-D and CGI scores were shown after 1 week and between weeks 1 and 4 but not between weeks 4 and 8. BPRS scores improved significantly after week 4, while the improvement in BPRS scores between weeks 4 and 8 was of borderline significance.


CONCLUSIONS
Mifepristone appears to be a useful intervention for psychotic depression, leading to significant improvements even after a 1-week course of administration. Issues related to its optimal dosing and to prediction of response are discussed, as are the implications of lack of a placebo group and the use of nonblinded ratings in the present study.
Simpson
George M
GM
Department of Psychiatry, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 2020 Zonal Avenue, IRD 202, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. gsimpson@usc.edu
El Sheshai
Adel
A
Loza
Nasser
N
Kingsbury
Steven J
SJ
Fayek
Mohamed
M
Rady
Ahmed
A
Fawzy
Waleed
W
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000341:Affective Disorders, Psychotic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015735:Mifepristone / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D015735:Mifepristone; D011374:Progesterone