title: Efficacy of milnacipran on the depressive state in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: An open-labeled study was conducted to examine the efficacy of selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), milnacipran in treating depression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Eleven patients with AD showing major depressive symptoms were examined. Ten of 11 patients demonstrated an over 50% decrease in their HAM-D scores from the baseline, and 8 of 11 patients reached remission (HAM-D score<==7) within 12 weeks of the start of milnacipran treatment, and their GAF score was also remarkably improved. Although in 11 patients, two patients showed a mild hypomanic state and one patient showed daytime somnolence, these problems were quickly solved after a decrease in the daily dose or discontinuation of milnacipran. In addition, the treatment had no negative effects on cognitive function of the patients. Our study results suggest that milnacipran is a promising medicine for depressive state in AD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine University of Tsukuba, Japan, 1-1-1Tennodai, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan. mizukami@md.tsukuba.ac.jp <mizukami@md.tsukuba.ac.jp>
authors.forename: Katsuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizukami
authors.forename: Yoshiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications; D003521:Cyclopropanes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000078764:Milnacipran; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003521:Cyclopropanes; D000078764:Milnacipran; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors