Efficacy and Tolerability of Escitalopram for Treating Depression in Parkinson’s Disease.

Introduction: Despite the frequently coexistence and prominent negative effect of depression in Parkinson’s disease, there is currently no evidence-based standard of care. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy and tolerability of individually administered selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) - escitalopram, relative to clinical monitoring (with no new treatment), for depression in this medical population. Method: In this retrospective open label analysis of 28 depressed (based on ICD-10 criteria and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) patients with Parkinson’s disease were treated with escitalopram 10-20 mg/d for duration of 8 weeks. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) depression subscale score and Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) score was the primary outcome. Assessments were completed at baseline, 4 (midpoint) and 8 (end of treatment) weeks of follow-up evaluation. Results: Although treatment was well tolerated and correlated with a significant decrease in HADS and CGI score, response and remission rates were 43.4% and 57.2%, respectively. Conclusions: Escitalopram may be a viable approach for the treatment of depression in Parkinson’s disease. Further research is needed to replicate and extend these findings.

Effect of chlordiazepoxide in patients with major depression

This is a study of different aspects of the problem of urgent traumatic cases admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department Saddam General Hospital, Mosul The study presents Information on the magnitude of the problem facing an accident department. The emphasis is on the pattern of injuries and on those who really need admission. A total number of 2810 traumatic cases were admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department during the period from January 1992 to January 1993. The patients were evaluated and classified according to age, sex, type and cause of injuries, timing of admission and hospital stay. The result shows that the majority of patients were male [72%] with male: female ratio of 2.6:1.0 and children aged below 10 years constituted [31.3%]. The average time of hospitalization was 2.4 days and majority of cases [86.8%] were discharged shortly after arrival. Most of the cases [48%] were due to direct blunt trauma, fall comes next [24.3%] The commonest time of admission was between 3 pm to 12 midnight, and 8 am to 3 pm [52.2%] and [42.2%] respectively. August, September and October were the months of high Incidence [37%]. The implication of these findings on future planning is discussed