Summary:
PCORI has identified treatment-resistant depression as an important research topic. Patients, clinicians, and others want to learn: For patients whose depression has not gotten better after using two types of antidepressants, is it better to add another treatment or switch to a new one?
The research team is assigning patients by chance to receive one of three treatments that the Food and Drug Administration has approved for treatment-resistant depression.
- For one group of patients, doctors are adding a treatment called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the antidepressant medicine each patient currently takes. During rTMS, a magnet above a patient’s head painlessly stimulates brain cells to improve depression symptoms. Patients in this treatment group are receiving rTMS five times a week for the first five weeks and twice a week for the next three weeks.
- For the second group of patients, doctors are adding a second medicine, aripiprazole, to each patient’s current medicine.
- For the third group of patients, doctors are switching from their current antidepressant medicines to a different medicine, venlafaxine.
INCLUSION CRITERIA
- Ages 18-80
- Male or Female
- Current episode of depression of at least 12 weeks duration
- Meet criteria for Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) during the current major depressive episode
- Have had an inadequate response to at least 2 antidepressants
- Are currently on an antidepressant for at least 8 weeks
- Are currently on a stable dose of an antidepressant for at least 4 weeks and
- Have experienced less than 50% improvement to the current antidepressant
Qualified Participants May Receive:
$100 compensation per completed visit