Adjunctive antidepressant treatment with quetiapine in agitated depression: positive effects on symptom reduction, psychopathology and remission rates.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the adjunctive effects of quetiapine on overall treatment response and on specific symptoms in agitated depression.


METHODS
Twenty-one patients suffering from an acute agitated major depressive episode were enrolled in the quetiapine/venlafaxine study group (QUET) in the context of a 6-week open-label, flexible dose, non-randomized case-control study. Eighteen matched depressed patients treated with antidepressants only served as controls (CON). Clinical assessment was carried out by the use of Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) 21 scale.


RESULTS
Both groups had high HAM-D scores at baseline (27.6 vs. 27.5; p = 0.94). The QUET group displayed a significantly larger HAM-D decrease already after 1 week of treatment (p = 0.026, d = 0.77). This group difference increased slightly until week 6 (p = 0.005, d = 1.0). The remission rate in the QUET group (70%) was almost double that of the CON group (38.5%), p = 0.022. The overall effect originated from various HAM-D items indicating agitation, sleep problems and anxiety.


CONCLUSIONS
Adjunctive quetiapine treatment in agitated depression showed faster and greater response leading to higher remission rates compared with antidepressants alone. Overall clinical improvement was specifically related to single aspects of psychopathology indicating that quetiapine develops its positive effects through a variety of psychopharmacological properties.
Dannlowski
Udo
U
Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Germany.
Baune
Bernhard T
BT
Böckermann
Iris
I
Domschke
Katharina
K
Evers
Stefan
S
Arolt
Volker
V
Hetzel
Günter
G
Rothermundt
Matthias
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D055815:Young Adult
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate