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Sulpiride and placebo in depressed elderly outpatients: A double‐blind study
Author(s) -
Kivelä SirkkaLiisa,
Lehtomäki Erkki
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.930020409
Subject(s) - sulpiride , placebo , dysthymic disorder , depression (economics) , rating scale , antidepressant , psychology , psychiatry , placebo group , medicine , major depressive disorder , antagonist , developmental psychology , anxiety , alternative medicine , receptor , cognition , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
In a controlled double‐blind study, sulpiride 100–200 mg daily or placebo was administered over a five‐month period to 22 and 24 depressive elderly outpatients. The majority of the patinets in both groups were diagnosed as suffering from relatively mild degrees of depression, i.e. from dysthymic disorder (chronic depression) or atypical depression. According to the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, the average symptomatology decreased from 19.7 to 15.7 points in the sulpiride group and from 22.8 to 17.0 points in the placebo group. The scores of three patients in the sulpiride group and those of four patients in the placebo group decreased by 50% or more. The corresponding figures for a decrease of 25–49% were six and nine, respectively. The effect of sulpiride on depressive symptoms did not differ from the effect of placebo. The results showed that sulpiride in small doses had no antidepressant effects on elderly patients suffering from relatively mild degrees of depression, i.e. from dysthymic disorder (chronic depression) or atypical depression.