This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Weintraub, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Weintraub, D. Pubmed/NCBI databases Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB NORTRIPTYLINE Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Nortriptyline in Geriatric Depression Resistant to Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors: Case Series

Research on treatment-resistant depression in the elderly has been limited, and recommendations for clinical man agement have often been extrapolated from studies using nongeriatric patients. This report describes a series of 10 elderly patients with refractory depression who were treated with nortriptyline after failing to respond to an ade quate trial of a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Seven (70%) of the patients responded to the addition or substitution of nortriptyline. All seven of the responders have remained on nortriptyline for maintenance therapy, none of whom have experienced recurrence of their depression after an average treatment duration of 1 year. Response to nor triptyline occurred in about 4 weeks in most patients. The mean daily dose of nortriptyline was 54 mg, and the mean plasma level was 97 ng/mL. Minor side effects occurred in three patients. No patients developed significant electrocardiogram changes. Nortriptyline, possibly due to its different mechanism of action, may be effective as either an adjunctive or replacement antidepressant in some cases of geriatric depression that are resistant to sero tonin reuptake inhibitors. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2001; 14:28-32).

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, Vol. 14, No. 1, 28-32 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/089198870101400107


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. A. Nierenberg, P. Eidelman, Y. Wu, and M. Joseph Depression: An Update for the Clinician Focus, January 1, 2005; 3(1): 3 - 12. [Full Text] [PDF]