The B-VITAGE trial: a randomized trial of homocysteine lowering treatment of depression in later life.
BACKGROUND
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and depressive symptoms are common in later life. Observational evidence suggests that depression is more prevalent among people with high plasma homocysteine (tHcy), but the results of randomized trials to date have been unable to show that lowering tHcy through the supplementation of vitamins B6, B12 and folate benefits depressive symptoms. We designed the B-VITAGE trial to determine whether adjunctive treatment with vitamins B6, B12 and folate increases the efficacy of standard antidepressant treatment.


METHODS
The B-VITAGE trial is a 12-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of daily citalopram (20 to 40 mg) plus B12(0.5 mg), B6 (25 mg) and folic acid (2 mg) or citalopram (20 to 40 mg) plus placebo for the treatment of depression in later life. The trial aims to recruit over 300 older adults with major depression (DSM-IV) and has been powered to detect the impact of an intervention associated with moderate effect size. Depressive symptoms will be rated with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). The trial has two main outcomes of interest: a reduction of 50% or more in the MADRS total score between baseline and week 12 and the remission of the depressive episode at weeks 12, 26 and 52 according to DSM-IV criteria. We hypothesize that subjects randomly allocated to the vitamin arm of the study will be more likely to show a clinically significant improvement and achieve and maintain remission of symptoms at 12, 26 and 52 weeks. Secondary outcomes of interest include compliance with treatment, reduction in the severity of depressive symptoms, switching to different antidepressants, the use of non-pharmacological antidepressant treatments, response to treatment according to MTHFRC677T genotype, and changes in cognitive function over 52 weeks.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this trial will clarify whether the systematic use of B-vitamins improves the response of older adults to standard antidepressant treatment. We anticipate that our findings will have implications for clinical practice and health policy development.


BACKGROUND
The trial is registered with the Australian Clinical Trials Registry, trial number (())ACTRN12609000256279.
Ford
Andrew H
AH
Western Australian Centre for Health & Ageing, Centre for Medical Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Flicker
Leon
L
McCaul
Kieran
K
van Bockxmeer
Frank
F
Hegarty
Sarah
S
Hirani
Varsha
V
Fenner
Stephen
S
Almeida
Osvaldo P
OP
D000367:Age Factors; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015283:Citalopram / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D020138:Hyperhomocysteinemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012107:Research Design; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000627:therapeutic use; D025101:Vitamin B 6 / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014803:Vitamin B Complex / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014904:Western Australia
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D015283:Citalopram; D006710:Homocysteine; D014803:Vitamin B Complex; D025101:Vitamin B 6; D005492:Folic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12