Adding-On or Switching Drugs Effective for Depression

Almost 20 million US adults have depression, with each episode lasting two years or longer, and which often returns twice or even more times. And as many as 60% of those given an antidepressant drug don’t respond fully to treatment. So a report in the New England Journal of Medicine brings good news: switching to a different antidepressant after 3 months will produce remission in about a quarter of the switchers. Alternatively, adding a second antidepressant on top of the first (again, after 3 months) caused complete remission of symptoms in 30%.

Adding together those achieving remission with either one drug, or two drug (switching or added on) allowed one investigator to claim that “if you can hang in there for at least two different treatments, you have a better than 50% chance on not just getting better, but getting well”. That’s a good step up from a mere one patient in three.

Now all that remains is to do something for the remaining 40%+ patients who don’t get help from any of the existing drugs. Cognitive behavioral therapy, anyone?