title: Can C-reactive protein inform antidepressant medication selection in depressed outpatients? Findings from the CO-MED trial.
abstract: Currently, no valid measures inform treatment selection for depressed patients. Whether C-reactive protein (CRP) in particular and two other acute phase reactants (inflammatory markers) could differentiate between patients responding to either of two treatments with different mechanisms of action was assessed.
  
  
  
  Subjects included Combining Medications to Enhance Depression Outcomes (CO-MED) trial participants randomly assigned to either escitalopram plus placebo (SSRI monotherapy, n=51) or bupropion plus escitalopram combination (bupropion-SSRI combination, n=55) with baseline plasma samples. CRP, serum amyloid P component, and alpha-2-macroglobulin were measured using the Bioplex Pro™ human acute-phase 4-plex panel. We conducted mixed model analyses of depressive symptom (Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report) and side-effect burden (Frequency, Intensity, and Burden of Side-Effects Rating Scale) obtained weekly or every other week over the 12-week acute-phase of CO-MED trial to evaluate the relationship between these outcomes and baseline CRP and other acute-phase reactants.
  
  
  
  The treatment arms did not differ in depressive symptom or side effect outcomes. Most participants (69.8%, 74/106) had baseline CRP levels greater than 1mg/L (indicative of systemic inflammatory activity). Higher baseline CRP levels were associated lower depression severity (correlation coefficient=-0.63) with bupropion-SSRI combination but not with SSRI monotherapy (correlation coefficient=0.40). The overall remission rate was 41.5%. The estimated remission rate with CRP threshold based assignment (SSRI monotherapy for <1mg/L and Bupropion-SSRI for ≥1mg/L) was 53.1%, with a number needed to treat of 8.6. Side effect burden was unrelated to any baseline inflammatory marker.
  
  
  
  Baseline CRP levels relate differentially to antidepressant treatment outcomes in persons with major depressive disorder. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00590863.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Manish K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Abu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minhajuddin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Bharathi S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Gadad
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Greer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grannemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Abigail
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soyombo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Taryn L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Mayes
authors.affiliation: Professor Emeritus, Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: A John
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Rush
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States. Electronic address: madhukar.trivedi@utsouthwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Madhukar H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Trivedi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016642:Bupropion / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D015283:Citalopram / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction; D057566:Self Report; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D016642:Bupropion; D015283:Citalopram; D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: Antidepressant response; Biomarker; C-reactive protein; Depression; Inflammation