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Published on: January 28, 2012
Patients With Atypical Symptoms of Depression Respond Better to Lithium Augmentation Than Patients Without Atypical
Hannah Buchbauer1, Mazda Adli1,2, Peter Schlattmann3
1Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Introduction:
Understanding the differences in treatment response between subtypes of major depressive disorder (MDD) may help to prevent lengthy trial-and-error processes by identifying effective treatment options. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of atypical features of MDD (MDD-A) on the response to lithium augmentation (LA).
Methods:
In a multicenter prospective cohort study, response to LA was compared between patients with atypical symptoms of MDD (MDD-A, n = 24) versus patients without atypical symptoms (MDD-nA; n = 94) using a Cox regression analysis.
Results:
A total of 62.5% of patients with MDD-A and 36.2% of patients with MDD-nA responded to LA. Analysis adjusted for age, sex, sufficient lithium serum concentration, and symptom severity at baseline showed a significantly higher probability of patients with atypical symptoms to respond to LA (HR 2.20, p = 0.02).
Conclusion:
This is the first study investigating lithium-response in patients with MDD-A. The MDD-A subtype may help to predict response to LA.
Trial Registration:
EudraCT number: 2008-004182-26; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: DRKS00026205.
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