Psychostimulants in the Treatment of Depressive Disorders

Abstract

Despite antidepressant therapy of appropriate trial duration and dose optimization, 50-60% of depressed patients have an adequate treatment response, whereas only 35-40% achieve remission. Psychostimulants have been suggested as potential candidates to promote acceleration of response and to alleviate residual symptoms of depression. Nowadays, clinicians often consider the off-label use of stimulants or stimulant alternatives as adjunctive antidepressants. In this review study, we reviewed the available literature on the efficacy of these agents for treatment of refractory unipolar and bipolar depression.

 

Keywords

• Depression, methylphenidate, modafinil, psychostimulants

Depresif Bozuklukların Tedavisinde Psikostimulanlar

Abstract

Uygun doz ve sürede antidepresan tedaviye rağmen depresif hastaların yaklaşık %50-60‘ında yeterli tedavi cevabı sağlanırken, sadece %35-40’ında remisyona ulaşılır. Psikostimulanlar depresyon tedavisinde rezidüel belirtilerin iyileştirilmesi ve tedavi cevabını hızlandırmak için aday ilaçlardandır. Klinisyenler günümüzde onaydışı olarak psikotimulanların ve alternatiflerini depresyonda güçlendirici tedavi olarak kullanmaktadırlar. Bu yazıda psikostimulan ajanların bipolar ve unipolar depresyonda etkinliği gözden geçirilmiştir.

Keywords

• Depresyon, metilfenidat, modafinil, psikostimulanlar

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