Bipolar Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Bipolar, including details on bipolar disorder, symptoms, treatment, depression, medication.

Response to SSRIs and role of the hormonal therapy in post-menopausal depression.

Zanardi R, Rossini D, Magri L, Malaguti A, Colombo C, Smeraldi E

Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Vita-Salute University San Raffaele Hospital, Via Stamira D'Ancona 20, Milan 20127, Italy. zanardi.raffaella@hsr.it

The aim of this study is to prospectively evaluate the antidepressant response to SSRIs in depressed post-menopausal women with or without hormonal therapy (HT), and to analyze the possible influence of basal serum levels of gonadotropins and sexual hormones on the antidepressant response. 170 post-menopausal women with a depressive episode (DSM-IV criteria)--47 on HT and 123 not on HT--started the treatment with an SSRI. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and 7 weeks thereafter by raters blind to treatment regimen. Response rates were 63.2% in the group without HT and 83.7% in the HT group (p=0.013). An inverse correlation emerged between the basal levels of LH and the improvement in HRSD scores (p=0.001) in the group without HT. In conclusion, HT appeared to improve the antidepressant response to SSRIs. Furthermore, in post-menopausal women, LH basal levels may be taken into account as possible predictor of response.

Published 2 April 2007 in Eur Neuropsychopharmacol, 17(6): 400-5.
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