Platelet activation in depression and effects of sertraline treatment: An open-label study

The authors' goal was to determine whether sertraline attenuates the increased platelet activation seen among depressed patients.

They tested 21 otherwise healthy patients with untreated major depressive episode who were 25-52 years old and 21 age- and sex-matched comparison subjects. Patients received 6 weeks of sertraline treatment, and 17 returned for retesting.

At baseline, the depressed patients had greater platelet secretion than the comparison subjects in response to collagen. Depressed patients with a family history of coronary disease had nonsignificantly greater wound-induced fibrinogen receptor binding than the other subjects. Platelet secretion in response to collagen was significantly reduced after treatment with sertraline.

Sertraline diminished the increased platelet secretion found among depressed patients, although the findings are limited by a lack of a placebo control group.