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The additional benefit of extending an antidepressant trial past seven weeks in the depressed elderly
Author(s) -
Georgotas Anastasios,
McCue Robert E.
Publication year - 1989
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.930040403
Subject(s) - phenelzine , nortriptyline , antidepressant , medicine , depression (economics) , psychiatry , amitriptyline , anxiety , biochemistry , chemistry , monoamine oxidase , economics , macroeconomics , enzyme
Thirty‐three elderly depressed patients who had not responded to either phenelzine or nortriptyline after seven weeks of treatment were given an additional two weeks of treatment. Nearly half of these patients responded during this grace period and the overall response rate increased from 54.0% to 70.0%. Patients on phenelzine did particularly well with the extended trial. The authors conclude that for elderly patients, an antidepressant trial of at least two months may be necessary for optimal response.