Higher dose L-methylfolate may be an effective adjunctive therapy for adults with major depression who have inadequate response to SSRIs

Question Question: In adults with major depression who have had a partial or non-response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), is the addition of l-methylfolate effective? Patients: 148 adults (trial 1) and 75 adults (trial 2) with Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - IV (DSM-IV) major depressive disorder who had not responded to at least 8 weeks adequate treatment with an SSRI (≥20 mg/day of fluoxetine, citalopram or paroxetine; ≥10 mg/day escitalopram; or ≥50 mg/day of sertraline). Exclusion criteria: pregnancy, breastfeeding or being of child-bearing age and not using contraception; ≥25% improvement in depressive symptom severity in the 2 weeks between screening and baseline; substance use disorder within the previous 6 months; unstable medical or psychiatric illness; hypothyroidism; past failure of sufficient symptom improvement after more than two antidepressant trials; those taking supplements containing >400 µg folate or >6 µg vitamin B12. Setting: Multicentre clinical sites in the US (both trials). Intervention: In trial 1 participants...
Source: Evidence-Based Mental Health - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Clinical trials (epidemiology), Neurology, Depressive disorder, Epidemiology, Screening (epidemiology) Therapeutics Source Type: research