Posted by Maxime on June 18, 2005, at 21:20:09
In reply to Dexamethasone in the treatment of depression » temoigneur, posted by ed_uk on June 16, 2005, at 7:04:42
My pdco tried me on this. I had to take it for 10 days and then stop. On the 8th day I finally started to feel good. But then when i had to stop the med on the 10th day, I crashed big time.
Maxime
> J Psychopharmacol. 1999;13(2):196-7.
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> The use of dexamethasone in elderly patients with antidepressant-resistant depressive illness.
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> Bodani M, Sheehan B, Philpot M.
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> Maudsley Hospital, London, UK.
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> Many depressed patients do not respond to first-line antidepressant treatment. Dexamethasone is a synthetic steroid which may have antidepressant properties. Its use in two elderly patients with resistant depression is reported. Both patients appeared to benefit from the treatment. The possible modes of action of this treatment, and its potential benefits to the elderly, are discussed.
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> Am J Psychiatry.
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> Dexamethasone for the treatment of depression: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.
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> Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425-0742.
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> OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to assess dexamethasone for the treatment of depression. METHOD: Thirty-seven outpatients (11 men and 26 women) meeting DSM-III-R criteria for major depressive disorder were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or 4 mg/day of oral dexamethasone for 4 days. Baseline Hamilton depression scale scores were compared with scores obtained 14 days after the first dose of study medication. Data were analyzed by using two-sample t tests, chi-square methods, and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Seven (37%) of the 19 patients given dexamethasone but only one (6%) of the 18 patients given placebo responded positively. No adverse events or side effects were reported, and all patients who entered the study completed it. CONCLUSIONS: A brief course of oral dexamethasone (4 days) was significantly more effective than placebo within 14 days for the treatment of depression in a randomized, double-blind study of depressed outpatients.
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> J Clin Psychiatry. 1991 Jul;52(7):304-6.
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> Dexamethasone for the treatment of depression: a preliminary report.
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> Arana GW, Forbes RA.
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> Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425-0742.
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> BACKGROUND: This preliminary uncontrolled trial of intravenous dexamethasone addresses the question of the utility of a glucocorticoid for the treatment of depression. METHOD: Patients with a DSM-III-R (SCID confirmed) diagnosis of major depression or bipolar disorder, depressed type, and a Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) score of greater than or equal to 20 were selected. Baseline HAM-D scores were compared with scores within 10 days after intravenous infusion of dexamethasone; data were analyzed by t tests. Control subjects (no psychiatric illness and HAM-D scores less than 5) were given intravenous dexamethasone to test for its mood-altering effect. RESULTS: The mean HAM-D scores in 16 depressed subjects 10 days after intravenous dexamethasone dropped by 56% (p less than .0001), and 75% of the patients experienced a greater than 50% reduction in HAM-D scores. Additionally, 6 nonpsychiatric, nondepressed control subjects were given intravenous dexamethasone and found to have no changes in mental status examination. CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous dexamethasone may be an effective treatment for depressive illnesses. Because this was an uncontrolled, unblinded trial, further studies need to be done in nonpsychiatric and psychiatric controls to ascertain the validity of this finding.
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poster:Maxime
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