Psychotic Major Depression

Antidepressant treatment of melancholia in older adults

OBJECTIVE

This is the first prospective trial in an outpatient sample comparing the effect of nortriptyline with sertraline in the treatment of depression with and without melancholia. We hypothesized that patients with melancholia would respond better to nortriptyline than sertraline, whereas among patients without melancholia, nortriptyline and sertraline would have equal efficacy.

METHODS

We conducted a randomized 12-week trial comparing sertraline with nortriptyline in the treatment of patients with nonpsychotic, unipolar major depression stratified by the presence of melancholia. One hundred ten unipolar depressed patients with and without melancholia comprised our intent-to-treat sample. Seventy-two were nonmelancholic depressed and randomly assigned to treatment with sertraline (N = 40) or nortriptyline (N = 32). Thirty-eight were melancholic depressed and randomly assigned to treatment with sertraline (N = 18) or nortriptyline (N = 20).

RESULTS

The test of the interaction of medication group and melancholia status on response was not statistically significant. Among patients with melancholia, response rates were 47% to sertraline and 75% to nortriptyline, whereas among patients without melancholia, response rates were 51% to sertraline and 42% to nortriptyline. The odds of response for patients with melancholia treated with nortriptyline compared with sertraline was 3.46. The odds of response for patients without melancholia treated with sertraline compared with nortriptyline was 0.69. Similar findings were obtained in the remission and continuous outcome analyses.

CONCLUSION

This study did not find a significant difference between sertraline and nortriptyline in the treatment of depressed older adults with melancholia.

Meta-review of depressive subtyping models

BACKGROUND

Increasing dissatisfaction with the non-specificity of major depression has led many to propose more specific depressive subtyping models. The present meta-review seeks to map dominant depressive subtype models, and highlight definitions and overlaps.

METHODS

A database search in Medline and EMBASE of proposed depressive subtypes, and limited to reviews published between 2000 and 2011, was undertaken. Of the more than four thousand reviews, 754 were judged as potentially relevant and provided the base for the present selective meta-review.

RESULTS

Fifteen subtype models were identified. The subtypes could be divided into five molar categories of (1) symptom-based subtypes, such as melancholia, psychotic depression, atypical depression and anxious depression, (2) aetiologically-based subtypes, exemplified by adjustment disorders, early trauma depression, reproductive depression, perinatal depression, organic depression and drug-induced depression, (3) time of onset-based subtypes, as illustrated by early and late onset depression, as well as seasonal affective disorder, (4) gender-based (e.g. female) depression, and (5) treatment resistant depression. An overview considering definition, bio-psycho-social correlates and the evidence base of treatment options for each subtype is provided.

LIMITATIONS

Despite the large data base, this meta-review is nevertheless narrative focused.

CONCLUSIONS

Subtyping depression is a promising attempt to overcome the non-specificity of many diagnostic constructs such as major depression, both in relation to their intrinsic non-specificity and failure to provide treatment-specific information. If a subtyping model is to be advanced it would need, however, to demonstrate differential impacts of causes and treatments.

Temperament and character in euthymic major depressive disorder patients: the effect of previous suicide attempts and psychotic mood episodes

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine personality traits of patients with major depressive disorder and explore the possible connections between personality and clinical and sociodemographic variables.

METHODS

The sociodemographic and clinical properties of 80 patients with major depression, who were euthymic according to Hamilton Depression Scale scores, were recorded. Their personality was evaluated by using Temperament and Character Inventory and results were compared with 80 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We used general linear model analysis to evaluate the manner in which the variables contributed to TCI scores.

RESULTS

Remitted depressive patients scored significantly lower on on self-directedness and higher on harm avoidance than HC. Previous suicide attempts had a main effect only on harm avoidance while previous psychotic mood episodes were significantly associated with novelty seeking, self-directedness and cooperativeness. With respect to numeric clinical variables, only duration of illness was significantly and negatively correlated with NS and RD scores.

CONCLUSION

Patients with euthymic major depressive disorder may have significantly different personality traits than the normal population, and patients with different clinical and sociodemographic characteristics may show different personality patterns. In addition, assessment of major depressed patients by means of the Temperament and Character Inventory may be helpful to get a deeper insight into those personality traits underlying suicidality and the emergence of psychotic mood episode.

Major depressive disorder with psychotic features may lead to misdiagnosis of dementia: a case report and review of the literature

Major depressive disorder (MDD) with psychotic features is relatively frequent in patients with greater depressive symptom severity and is associated with a poorer course of illness and greater functional impairment than MDD without psychotic features. Multiple studies have found that patients with psychotic mood disorders demonstrate significantly poorer cognitive performance in a variety of areas than those with nonpsychotic mood disorders. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Dementia Rating Scale, Second Edition (DRS-2) are widely used to measure cognitive functions in research on MDD with psychotic features. Established total raw score cut-offs of 24 on the MMSE and 137 on the DRS-2 in published manuals suggest possible global cognitive impairment and dementia, respectively. Limited research is available on these suggested cut-offs for patients with MDD with psychotic features. We document the therapeutic benefit of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which is usually associated with short-term cognitive impairment, in a 68-year-old woman with psychotic depression whose MMSE and DRS-2 scores initially suggested possible global cognitive impairment and dementia. Over the course of four ECT treatments, the patient's MMSE scores progressively increased. After the second ECT treatment, the patient no longer met criteria for global cognitive impairment. With each treatment, depression severity, measured by the 24-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, improved sequentially. Thus, the suggested cut-off scores for the MMSE and the DRS-2 in patients with MDD with psychotic features may in some cases produce false-positive indications of dementia.

Combined venlafaxine and olanzapine prescription in women with psychotic major depression: a case series

Patients with psychotic major depression suffer prolonged duration and greater severity of illness, including an increased likelihood of recurrent episodes and resistance to conventional pharmacotherapies. They do not respond to placebo and respond poorly to antidepressant or antipsychotic monotherapy. On the other hand, as has been demonstrated, they do respond well to antidepressant and antipsychotic combination therapies. Different combinations of drugs were studied, but little is known up to now with regard to the combination of venlafaxine and olanzapine. The following paper presents three separate case studies of female patients suffering from psychotic unipolar major depression, all of whom were admitted to a psychiatric ward and successfully treated with a combination of venlafaxine and olanzapine.

Olanzapine and fluoxetine combination therapy for treatment-resistant depression: review of efficacy, safety, and study design issues

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a common occurrence in clinical practice. Up to 30% of patients with major depression do not respond to conventional antidepressant treatment, while a significantly greater number of patients experience only partial symptom reduction. Numerous strategies may be applied by the practicing clinician to overcome limitations in the effectiveness of antidepressant monotherapy, including combining drug treatment with evidence-supported psychotherapies, combining antidepressants (combination pharmacotherapy), and combining antidepressants with other non-antidepressant psychotropic medications (augmentation treatment). One such augmentation strategy, the combination of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine (FLX), with the atypical antipsychotic drug, olanzapine (OLZ), is supported by the results of four randomized, double-blind, acute phase studies of patients who had responded inadequately to antidepressant monotherapy. In each study, the FLX/OLZ combination caused rapid reduction in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating scale scores, with two of the four studies showing significantly greater improvement than antidepressant monotherapy at study endpoint. Effects of the FLX/OLZ combination were strongest in cases where failure to respond to two antidepressants prior to randomization was established during the current depressive episode. The FLX/OLZ combination was well-tolerated; however, body weight gain and increases in prolactin were greater than that of the antidepressant monotherapy groups, and were comparable to that of OLZ monotherapy. While effective during acute-phase treatment, questions remain regarding the long-term efficacy and safety of FLX/OLZ relative to antidepressant monotherapy and other combination strategies. Efforts aimed at determining the placement of FLX/OLZ among the available options for addressing TRD are limited by lack of comparison and sequential treatment studies. Important aspects of study design and directions for future research are discussed.

Continuation/maintenance treatment with nortriptyline versus combined nortriptyline and ECT in late-life psychotic depression: a two-year randomized study

OBJECTIVE

The identification of effective continuation and maintenance strategies for elderly patients with psychotic depression is a critical issue that has not been fully explored. The aim of this study was to assess the tolerability and efficacy of continuation/maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in elderly patients with psychotic depression after acute ECT remission.

METHODS

The authors used a longitudinal, randomized, single-blind design to compare by survival analysis the 2-year outcome of two subgroups of elderly patients with psychotic unipolar depression who were ECT (plus nortriptyline) remitters. One group was treated with a continuation/maintenance nortriptyline regimen (N = 17) and the other with combined continuation/maintenance ECT plus nortriptyline (N = 16).

RESULTS

Over 2 years of treatment in elderly, psychotic, unipolar depressed ECT (plus nortriptyline) remitters, the mean survival time was significantly longer in the combined ECT plus nortriptyline subgroup than in the nortriptyline subgroup. No differences were observed between treatments with regard to tolerability.

CONCLUSIONS

This study supports the judicious use of combined continuation/maintenance ECT and antidepressant treatment in elderly patients with psychotic unipolar depression who are ECT remitters.

Augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics: a review of the current literature

Studies have found that a large percentage of depressed patients may have limited response and remission rates when treated with traditional antidepressants. Options for augmenting antidepressant treatment include buspirone, lithium, and triiodothyronine. There are also increasing data concerning the use of atypical antipsychotics as augmenting agents in the treatment of unipolar, nonpsychotic, treatment-resistant depression. Aripiprazole has recently received an indication from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for adjunctive treatment in unipolar, nonpsychotic depression, the first indication of its kind, after two double-blind trials; doses were slightly lower than those recommended for monotherapy in schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Olanzapine and risperidone have several controlled clinical trials indicating the efficacy of both of these agents, generally at low doses. One trial of quetiapine suggested that it may not be effective in the treatment of unipolar, nonpsychotic depression. One open-label trial of ziprasidone indicated some efficacy. According to these results, aripiprazole, olanzapine, and risperidone are reasonable choices as augmentation agents, with only aripiprazole currently having an FDA indication for this use. Given the preliminary results, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with quetiapine and ziprasidone are needed, as well as studies comparing atypical antipsychotic agents with traditional augmentation agents in the treatment of depression.

Depressive Störungen

Das Spektrum depressiver Erkrankungen macht den Hauptteil affektiver Störungen aus und gehört mit einer Inzidenz von ca. 8–20% zu den häufigsten psychischen Erkrankungen. Depressionen werden nach wie vor zu selten einer adäquaten Therapie (Antidepressiva, störungsspezifische Psychotherapie wie z. B. kognitive Verhaltenstherapie) zugeführt.

The treatment of psychotic major depression: is there a role for adjunctive psychotherapy?

BACKGROUND

Psychotic depression is a relatively prevalent mood disorder associated with greater symptom severity, a poorer course of illness and higher levels of functional impairment compared with nonpsychotic depression. Separate lines of investigation suggest that various forms of cognitive-behavioral therapy are efficacious for treating severe forms of nonpsychotic depression as well as primary psychotic disorders. However, there currently are no empirically supported psychotherapies specifically designed for treating psychotic depression.

METHOD

We review the efficacy of current somatic treatments for the disorder and discuss the limited data to date on potentially useful psychotherapeutic approaches. In particular, we describe the clinical improvement observed in a subgroup of hospitalized patients with psychotic depression treated with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as part of a larger clinical trial.

RESULTS

Pilot results demonstrated that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy was associated with clinically significant reductions in acute symptom severity and impairment compared with treatment as usual.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that patients with psychotic depression can benefit from psychotherapy. Clinical and research recommendations in this area are presented.

Off-label use of antipsychotics: are we mad?

The off-label prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to psychiatric patients of all ages is very common. Such off-label use is a necessary part of the art of psychiatry but brings with it increased responsibilities for the prescriber as, if the patient suffered an adverse reaction, liability would rest with the prescriber and/or their employers. This article reviews the frequency and nature of the off-label prescribing of antipsychotic drugs for psychiatric indications to children, adults and the elderly. It also reviews the evidence base for doing so in a variety of common, and also some less common, clinical situations. The review is mainly concerned with off-label indications but a short section on high dose antipsychotics is also included. The review concludes that the off-label prescription of antipsychotics frequently lacks the support of robust clinical trials. When prescribing off-label, the prescriber must carry out a careful risk assessment of the risks and benefits for the individual patient. They should also inform the patient that the prescription is off-label.

Dysfunctional cognitions in hospitalized patients with psychotic versus nonpsychotic major depression

Previous research suggests that psychotic major depression (PMD) is associated with greater illness severity and functional impairment as well as poorer treatment response to antidepressants and psychotherapies compared with nonpsychotic major depression. Although patients with PMD exhibit a number of neurobiological abnormalities, little research has been conducted to date on possible psychological factors that are related to illness in this depression subtype. In the current study, baseline data were pooled from 2 clinical trials in which depressed patients (n = 235) were recruited during a psychiatric hospitalization for an acute episode. Twelve percent (n = 28) of this treatment-seeking sample met criteria for PMD and showed elevated levels of depression severity and dysfunctional beliefs compared with individuals with nonpsychotic major depression. However, even after controlling for depression severity and other relevant baseline variables, only a measure of common dysfunctional beliefs differentiated those with vs those without psychotic features. Furthermore, higher levels of depressive cognitions were related to poorer psychosocial functioning and suicidality in PMD patients. Results suggest that elevated levels of common negative cognitions in depressed patients may be associated with the presence of more severe psychotic symptoms. Adapted cognitive-behavioral treatments may be useful for treating patients with PMD specifically.