PMID- 11459336
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20020102
LR  - 20191025
IS  - 0268-1315 (Print)
IS  - 0268-1315 (Linking)
VI  - 16
IP  - 4
DP  - 2001 Jul
TI  - Fluoxetine treatment in patients with recurrent brief depression.
PG  - 221-6
AB  - Recurrent brief depression (RBD) fulfills DSM-IV criteria for major depression 
      except duration. Depressive episodes last at least 2 days but less than 2 weeks 
      occurring at least once a month for 12 consecutive months without association to 
      the menstrual cycle. RBD has a high prevalence in the general population 
      (approximately 10%). At present, there are few double-blind controlled studies 
      indicating that selective serotonine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) might not be 
      effective in treatment of RBD. However, most of those studies include patients 
      with a history of frequent suicide attempts and depressive episodes lasting 
      shorter 2 weeks. It has previously been shown that fluoxetine was effective in 
      patients with RBD in an open-label study. The objective of our study was to 
      reinvestigate these contradictory results concerning the effectiveness of 
      fluoxetine in patients with RBD. Seventeen patients with RBD according to DSM-IV 
      and ICD-10 diagnostic criteria, who had no history of major depression were 
      treated with a dosage of 20-40 mg fluoxetine daily. Patients had to keep a diary 
      in order to document psychopathological symptoms according to DSM-IV. We also 
      used the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), the Beck Depression 
      Inventory (BDI) and the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI). Duration of the study 
      was 8 weeks. The diaries of nine patients were observed for a clinical 
      observation period of 20 weeks after the end of the study with continued 
      fluoxetine treatment. Two patients who initially fulfilled diagnostic criteria 
      for RBD suffered from depressive episodes that lasted longer than 2 weeks. 
      Therefore, their data had to be excluded from primary analysis. In the remaining 
      15 patients, we showed statistically significant improvement of depressive 
      episodes measured by patient's diary, HIAM-D, BDI and CGI that persisted over the 
      clinical observation period. Frequency of depressive episodes showed a 
      significant decrease during fluoxetine treatment. Duration and severity of the 
      single depressive episodes also decreased but did not reach statistical 
      significance. In accordance with previous studies, fluoxetine could be a 
      treatment option for patients with RBD. Treatment of RBD with SSRIs has been 
      discussed controversially in the literature. Our study shows the effectiveness of 
      fluoxetine in this depressive disorder. To confirm these preliminary results, a 
      double-blind controlled study is necessary.
FAU - Stamenkovic, M
AU  - Stamenkovic M
AD  - Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital for Psychiatry, Vienna, 
      Austria. mara.stamenkovic@akh-wien.ac.at
FAU - Blasbichier, T
AU  - Blasbichier T
FAU - Riederer, F
AU  - Riederer F
FAU - Pezawas, L
AU  - Pezawas L
FAU - Brandstatter, N
AU  - Brandstatter N
FAU - Aschauer, H N
AU  - Aschauer HN
FAU - Kasper, S
AU  - Kasper S
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - Int Clin Psychopharmacol
JT  - International clinical psychopharmacology
JID - 8609061
RN  - 01K63SUP8D (Fluoxetine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Depressive Disorder/diagnosis/*drug therapy/psychology
MH  - Female
MH  - Fluoxetine/adverse effects/*therapeutic use
MH  - Follow-Up Studies
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Personality Inventory
MH  - Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
MH  - Recurrence
MH  - Treatment Outcome
EDAT- 2001/07/19 10:00
MHDA- 2002/01/05 10:01
CRDT- 2001/07/19 10:00
PHST- 2001/07/19 10:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2002/01/05 10:01 [medline]
PHST- 2001/07/19 10:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1097/00004850-200107000-00006 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2001 Jul;16(4):221-6. doi: 
      10.1097/00004850-200107000-00006.