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Short Term Mifepristone Effective For Psychotic Major Depression
A DGReview of :"An open label trial of C-1073 (mifepristone) for psychotic major depression"
Biological Psychiatry
10/22/2002
By Harvey McConnell
Short term use of the glucocorticosteroid receptor (GR) antagonist mifepristone (C-1073) appears to be effective in the treatment of psychotic major depression.
A joint study by American and French researchers enrolled 30 patients with psychotic major depression (PMD) into the trial. The patients had Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-21) scores of 18 or greater.
Patients in the open label trial were assigned to receive 50 mg, 600 mg, or 1200 mg of mifepristone for seven days. All of the patients completed the trial protocol; there were no dropouts, and side effects were mild and sporadic.
Clinicians found that among 19 patients in the combined 600 mg and the 1200 mg dosage group, 13 had a 30 percent or greater decline in their Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores, compared with four of 11 patients in the 50-mg dosage group.
Among the 19 patients who received 600 mg and 1200 mg of mifepristone, 12 showed a 50 percent decline in the BPRS positive symptom subscale, a more sensitive index for the symptoms seen in PMD. This was in contrast with three of the 11 patients in the 50 mg dosage group. In addition, eight of 19 patients in the 600 mg and 1200 mg dosage group had a 50 percent decline in the HAMD-21, compared with only two of 11 patients in the 50 mg dosage group.
Clinicians said that their findings indicates that further blinded studies are warranted.
Biological Psychiatry Volume 52, Issue 5, pp 386-392.
"An open label trial of C-1073 (mifepristone) for psychotic major depression"
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