[Successful treatment using high-dose amoxapine for a depressive patient]

We present a case of successful treatment of a patient with depression who showed remarkable improvement with a high-dose treatment of amoxapine. The case involved a 59-year old in-patient male who suffered severe depression. While a variety of medications, including anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, and anti-psychotics, were tried, none were successful. However, after starting amoxapine and increasing the dose to 375 mg/day, symptoms significantly improved. The patient underwent continued therapy with same dose, and no relapse was seen until it occurred about the same time poor compliance was observed. The case suggests that, while the patient seemed "treatment-resistant" at first, a higher dose and/or elongation of medication, led to improvement. It also suggests that anti-depressant treatment with a sufficient dose and period, should be continued for patients with treatment-resistant depression.