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Classification of Depression and Response to Antidepressive Therapies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

M. T. Abou-Saleh  and
A. Coppen
M. T. Abou-Saleh
Affiliation:
MRC Neuropsychiatry Research Laboratory, West Park Hospital, Epsom, KT19 8PB, Surrey, U.K.
A. Coppen
Affiliation:
MRC Neuropsychiatry Research Laboratory, West Park Hospital, Epsom, KT19 8PB, Surrey, U.K.
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Summary

Two hundred inpatients suffering from primary depressive illness were studied. Seventy eight of the patients were treated by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and 122 patients received antidepressant medication. Response to ECT and antidepressant medication at 4 weeks showed a curvilinear relationship to Newcastle scores. Patients with Newcastle scores in the middle range (4–8) showed significantly higher percentage improvement than those with low (0–3) and high (9–12) scores. Ninety five patients with unipolar depression who received lithium therapy for one year were also studied. Response to lithium showed a linear relationship to Newcastle scores in these patients. It is suggested that these differences in response to antidepressant therapies reflect the heterogeneity of depressive illness.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 143 , Issue 6 , December 1983 , pp. 601 - 603
Copyright
Copyright © 1983 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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