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P3‐020: The Effect of Escitalopram on Mood and Cognition in Depressive Alzheimer’s Disease Subjects
Author(s) -
An Hoyoung,
Choi Booyeol,
Park Kun-woo,
Kim Do-Hoon,
Yang Dong Won,
Hong Chang Hyung,
Kim Seong Yoon,
Han Seol-Heui
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.06.1677
Subject(s) - escitalopram , depression (economics) , placebo , tolerability , dementia , psychology , medicine , population , mood , cohort , randomized controlled trial , major depressive disorder , psychiatry , adverse effect , disease , antidepressant , anxiety , alternative medicine , environmental health , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
BACKGROUNDEffective treatments to alleviate depression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been scarce.OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy and tolerability of escitalopram in the treatment of depression in AD.METHODSIn this 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with open-label, 12-week extension, AD subjects over 50 years of age, with depression defined by Olin's provisional diagnostic criteria, were enrolled. The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), and other measures of depression and cognition were repeated.RESULTS91 subjects were screened, and 84 were randomized into either the study group or placebo group (n = 42 for both groups). Twenty-four subjects (29%) were unable to finish the study, yielding a per protocol population of 60 subjects (study group: n = 27; placebo group: n = 33). At week 12, differences in measures of depression and cognition between the two groups were not statistically significant. However, exploratory analysis suggested that further research on a subset of subjects with 'definite major depression' (baseline CSDD score ≥18) is needed. The number of treatment-related adverse-events (AE) did not differ between groups (p = 0.83) and no serious treatment-related AE were observed.CONCLUSIONThe use of escitalopram was well tolerated in depressive dementia patients. Future studies focusing on subjects with more severe levels of depression, and with more statistical power, will be needed.