Cognitive Correlates of Antidepressant Treatment Response in Elders

Unity Health Toronto

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 4

Conditions: Depression

Treatments: Drug: Zoloft (antidepressant)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01477268

06-296

Details and patient eligibility

About

Major depression is a very common health problem affecting older persons. The present standard of treatment is with medications called "antidepressants". Antidepressants have been studied extensively in older persons with normal brain function and have been shown to be effective. However, certain types of brain dysfunction called "executive impairment" (inability to do higher order thinking) may lead to poor treatment outcomes. This study will compare how older depressed people with different levels of executive impairment respond differently to standard antidepressant treatment. Knowing this information will lead to more rational targeting of available treatments, leading to improved treatment outcomes.

Enrollment: 30 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65 to 90 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• above the age of 65,
• speak English fluently,
• experience depression, AND
• not yet on active treatment.

Exclusion criteria

• active delirium,
• substance abuse,
• mental illness other than major depression,
• active CNS disease,
• unstable systematic medical disease, OR
• current of past psychotic disorder.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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30 participants in 1 patient group

zoloft

Other group

Description:

Both arms of the study will include zoloft. However, the treatment response to zoloft will be compared in two different subgroups.

Treatment:

Drug: Zoloft (antidepressant)