Aripiprazole as an adjunctive treatment for refractory unipolar depression

IntroductionAripiprazole may be an effective adjunctive treatment in outpatients with unipolar depression that has been refractory to treatment with SSRI or SNRI medication.MethodsFifteen subjects with a current DSM-IV diagnosis of MDD which had not responded to SSRI or SNRI treatment were enrolled in a 12 week open-label study of aripiprazole with a maximum dose of 30 mg/day. Patients' current episode averaged 10.4 ± 16.6 years, with a range of 3 months to 54 years. Baseline severity averaged 30.1 ± 7.1 on HDRS-24, and 19.7 ± 8.4 on BDI. Patients had been treated with a mean dose of 79.2 ± 28.2 mg/day of fluoxetine equivalents for an average of 1 year prior to starting the study. Five subjects were on SNRI medications and 10 on SSRIs.ResultsSeven of 14 (50.0%) subjects were classified as treatment responders, as defined by at least 50% reduction in the HDRS-24 at week 12. Four subjects (28.6%) achieved remission, based on STAR⁎D criteria (HDRS-17 score ≤ 7). 26.7% (4/15) of subjects discontinued participation due to side effects. Two (40%) of 5 SNRI-treated subjects responded to aripiprazole augmentation.ConclusionsThese findings support previous studies for the effectiveness of aripiprazole in augmenting SSRIs or SNRIs in treatment-resistant major depression.