Major Depressive Disorder in recovery and neuropsychological functioning: Effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and dual inhibitor depression treatments on residual cognitive deficits in patients with Major Depressive Disorder in recovery

IntroductionCognitive disturbances in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) could persist beyond the symptomatic phase of the illness. However, the works addressing this topic did not usually account for the possible impact of medication on the cognitive functions of depressed patients. The present study aims to investigate whether MDD patients in remission treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) or dual serotonergic-noradrenergic reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) show cognitive deficits, to study whether the same patients suffer neuropsychological disturbances when they are unmedicated and in recovery phase, and if the previous pharmacological treatment used to achieve the remission of MDD clinical symptoms had any effect in the profile of these patients' cognitive performance in the recovery phase.MethodsThirty-six subjects with MDD treated with escitalopram and 37 depressed patients with duloxetine were compared both in remission phase and 24 weeks later, when they were unmedicated and in recovery phase. They were also compared, in both moments, to 37 healthy subjects.ResultsThe control subjects showed a broader better cognitive performance than MDD patients in both measurement moments, but several cognitive functions improved over time. Also, the patients treated with SNRI performed better in memory tests than the SNRI-treated patients in remission phase, and in recovery phase.LimitationsOur sample size is somewhat small, and we followed our patients only for 6 months after treatment.ConclusionsCognitive functions improve over time in patients with MDD beyond the remission phase, and the antidepressant treatment class used in acute depressive phase could influence his/her memory improvement.