title: Treatment of depression associated with age-related macular degeneration: a double-blind, randomized, controlled study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Depression is frequently found in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of escitalopram in treating major and minor depression in AMD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a crossover, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 16-week study comparing escitalopram with placebo. Inclusion criteria included reduced vision from AMD and major or minor depression, with a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) score of ≥10. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either escitalopram or placebo for 8 weeks and then crossed over to the other treatment. The primary outcome was change on the total HAMD-17 score with escitalopram treatment compared with placebo.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We enrolled 16 AMD patients (mean age 79.1), 12 with major depression and 4 with minor depression. Mean HAMD-17 score at enrollment was 16.1 ± 4.2, and mean visual acuity in the better eye was 20/70. During escitalopram treatment, participants showed a significant reduction in HAMD-17 scores compared with placebo treatment (P = .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest escitalopram may be an effective treatment for depressive symptoms associated with major or minor depression in AMD patients with vision loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Division of Biostatistics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Brody
authors.forename: Linda C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Field
authors.forename: Anne-Catherine
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Roch-Levecq
authors.forename: Christine Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Moutier
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Edland
authors.forename: Stuart I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015283:Citalopram / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D015283:Citalopram
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