Zolpidem for persistent insomnia in SSRI-treated depressed patients.

BACKGROUND: Depressed individuals effectively treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) often report persistent insomnia and require adjunctive sleep-promoting therapy. METHOD: Men (N = 40) and women (N = 150) with a mean age of 41.6 years who had persistent insomnia in the presence of effective and stable treatment (at least 2 weeks) with fluoxetine (< or =40 mg/day), sertraline (< or =100 mg/day), or paroxetine (< or =40 mg/day) for DSM-IV major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, or minor depressive disorder of mild-to-moderate severity (and score of < or =2 on item 3 of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression [HAM-D]) participated in this randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study. At study entry, patients were required to score < or =12 on the HAM-D. During a 1-week single-blind placebo period, patients had to report on at least 3 nights a latency of > or =30 minutes or a sleep time of <6.5 hours and clinically significant daytime impairment. Patients received either placebo (N = 96) or zolpidem, 10 mg (N = 94) nightly, for 4 weeks and single-blind placebo for 1 week thereafter. Sleep was measured with daily questionnaires and during weekly physician visits. RESULTS: Compared with placebo, zolpidem was associated with improved sleep: longer sleep times (weeks 1 through 4, p<.05), greater sleep quality (weeks 1 through 4, p<.01), and reduced number of awakenings (weeks 1, 2, and 4; p<.05), together with feeling significantly more refreshed, less sleepy, and more able to concentrate. After placebo substitution, the zolpidem group showed significant worsening relative to pretreatment sleep on the first posttreatment night in total sleep time and sleep quality, reverted to pretreatment insomnia levels on the other hypnotic efficacy measures, or maintained improvement (fewer number of awakenings). There was no evidence of dependence or withdrawal from zolpidem (DSM-IV criteria). Incidence rates of adverse events were similar in both treatment groups (74% and 83% for placebo and zolpidem, respectively), but 7 zolpidem patients discontinued compared with 2 placebo patients. CONCLUSION: In this defined patient population, zolpidem, 10 mg, was effectively and safely co-administered with an SSRI, resulting in improved self-rated sleep, daytime functioning, and well-being.

Sertraline in the treatment of panic disorder. A multi-site, double-blind, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose investigation.

BACKGROUND: This study compared the efficacy and safety of sertraline to placebo in treating panic disorder. METHOD: 178 out-patients with panic disorder who exhibited at least four panic attacks during the four weeks prior to screening and three during the two weeks of lead-in were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with sertraline (50, 100 or 200 mg) or placebo. RESULTS: Sertraline was superior to placebo in reducing the number of panic attacks, situational attacks, unexpected attacks, limited symptom attacks, and time spent worrying (all P < 0.01) and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (P < 0.05), although Clinical Global Impression (Improvement) did not significantly differentiate groups at 12 weeks and at end-point. No serious adverse events were associated with sertraline. No dose relationship was found for adverse events; overall drop-out rates were not different for sertraline or placebo, although more sertraline-treated subjects discontinued for adverse events, typically early in the study. Only dry mouth and ejaculation failure (primarily ejaculation delay) were associated significantly with sertraline. CONCLUSIONS: Sertraline was effective and safe in reducing panic attacks. Higher doses were no more effective than the 50 mg dose.

A 2-year study of sertraline in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The present study investigated the tolerability, safety profile, and anti-obsessional efficacy of sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, during long-term treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Fifty-nine OCD patients who had completed a 1 year double-blind, fixed dose study comparing sertraline and placebo subsequently entered a 1-year open extension. Among the 51 patients who had been treated with sertraline during the double-blind phase, the mean total duration of sertraline treatment was 690 days. Only treatment responders who completed the 52-week double-blind treatment phase were permitted to enter the open extension. The higher rate (p < 0.02) of sertraline patients (51 out of 241) than of placebo patients (eight out of 84), who responded to treatment and entered the open-label phase is therefore consistent with the greater mean improvement observed in the sertraline group during double-blind treatment. Placebo responders differed from sertraline responders in that they were less impaired at baseline of the double-blind study [Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) of 18.5 versus 23.4] and they exhibited less improvement during double-blind treatment (-6.1 versus -11.4). In the open-label phase all patients received sertraline at a starting dose of 50 mg once a day, titrated in 50 mg increments to a maximum dose of 200 mg according to clinical response. At end-point the mean Y-BOCS score for all patients decreased by a further 3.6 points. Patients previously treated with placebo showed greater improvement after being switched to sertraline than those who received continued sertraline treatment. Patients who completed the study and received 2 full years of sertraline treatment (n = 38) exhibited a mean improvement of 15.6 points using the Y-BOCS. Sertraline was well tolerated during both the double-blind phase and the open extension, and the incidence of adverse experiences was generally reduced during the second year of treatment. Three patients discontinued open treatment because of adverse experiences. Long-term sertraline treatment did not appear to be associated with the emergence, increased incidence, or increased severity of adverse experiences or clinically significant abnormalities in laboratory tests, vital signs, or the electrocardiogram. The study supports the long-term safety and tolerability of sertraline over a 2-year treatment course and the sustained efficacy of sertraline in patients with OCD.

A 1 year double-blind placebo-controlled fixed dose study of sertraline in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy, over a 1 year treatment period, of three dose levels of sertraline and placebo in the treatment of non-depressed adult out-patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Following 1 week of single-blind placebo washout, patients (n = 325) from 11 sites following identical protocols were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with one of three fixed doses of sertraline (50, 100 or 200 mg) or placebo. At the end of 12 weeks, treatment responders (including placebo patients) were offered an additional 40 weeks of double-blind treatment at their assigned doses. Efficacy measures were the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, the NIMH Global Obsessive Compulsive Scale, Clinical Global Impressions of Severity of Illness and Global Improvement and the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory. Patients in the pooled sertraline group showed greater improvement than placebo-treated patients on all efficacy measures, based on the endpoint analyses. Moreover, pairwise comparisons at endpoint revealed a significant effect on all three investigator-rated scales in patients receiving 50 or 200 mg of sertraline; in the 100 mg group, there was a significant effect on the NIMH Global Obsessive Compulsive Scale only. Patients completing 3 months of sertraline treatment exhibited excellent toleration and sustained improvement during an additional 40 weeks of therapy. Results support the safety, efficacy and tolerability of daily doses of 50-200 mg of sertraline in the long-term treatment of patients with OCD.

Double-blind parallel comparison of three dosages of sertraline and placebo in outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Anecdotal evidence suggests patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are treated with selective serotonin uptake inhibitors at dosages significantly higher than those used with depressed patients. The current study examined the efficacy, safety, and optimal dosing strategy of sertraline in patients with OCD. METHODS: Three hundred twenty-four nondepressed outpatients with OCD from 11 sites followed identical protocols using a double-blind parallel design. Following 1 week of single-blind placebo, patients were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of treatment with one of three fixed dosages of sertraline (50, 100, or 200 mg/d) or placebo. RESULTS: Sertraline patients exhibited significantly greater improvement (P < .05) at end point than placebo patients on all three main efficacy measures in the 50-mg/d and 200-mg/d groups and on one measure in the 100-mg/d group. The placebo response was larger in this population of subjects with OCD than in those previously studied. Adverse experiences were common in the sertraline and placebo groups and appeared to be dose-related in the sertraline-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: Results support the safety and efficacy of daily dosages of 50, 100, and 200 mg of sertraline in the short-term treatment of patients with OCD.

Discriminating placebo and drug in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) trials: single vs. multiple clinical raters.

A multisite, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was made of 177 patients with the diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder. After a 1-week placebo lead-in, they were randomized to 4 weeks of treatment by placebo or one of two doses of a novel, nonsedating compound that had demonstrated reduction of fear-avoidance behavior in animals. Efficacy was not demonstrated at a significant level. A further analysis of 142 patients who completed the treatment was undertaken to test the hypothesis that efficacy might be demonstrated by the single-rater procedure (SRP), which eliminates interrater error variance. The 80 patients who were examined by the same clinical rater for all six visits were compared with the 62 patients who had the multiple-rater procedure (MRP), ratings by two or more clinicians sequentially over the six visits. A two-way analysis of variance showed significantly greater discrimination of placebo and drug for the MRP group. The results provided no support for the frequent preference for the SRP. The MRP may include less psychotherapeutic interaction with the patient and less researcher bias in ratings.

Long-term treatment of major depressive disorder with paroxetine.

Recurrent unipolar depression is a common, but undertreated disorder. Many patients require long-term maintenance therapy, and full doses of antidepressant agents may be preferred for the prevention of relapse. We report results of a 1-year, multicenter, open-label study of paroxetine (10 to 50 mg/day) in 433 patients with major depressive disorder, with additional data from 110 patients who entered a long-term extension of the study. The primary measures of efficacy were the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) total and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) severity of illness scores. During the first 6 weeks of therapy, the mean HAM-D total declined approximately 50% (from 27.9 to 13.5), with continued improvement, at an attenuated rate, throughout the first year. At the end of 1 year, the mean HAM-D total was 6.9. Similarly, the CGI severity of illness score declined from 4.6 at baseline to 2.8 at week 6 and to 1.7 at the end of 1 year. Remission was maintained in the population that entered the long-term extension, with mean HAM-D total and CGI severity of illness scores of 6.4 and 1.8, respectively, after 2.5 years, and 4.2 and 1.3 after 4 years. The most common adverse events reported during long-term treatment with paroxetine were somnolence, nausea, headache, and sweating. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed no clear correlation between the concentrations of paroxetine in plasma and either clinical efficacy or tolerability. There was no increased drug accumulation during long-term treatment. Side effects tended to occur early during therapy; and no new side effects emerged during the long-term extension. These results suggest that paroxetine is effective and well tolerated in the long-term treatment of depression.