Abstract
Patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) may not respond to antidepressants for 8 weeks or longer. A biomarker that predicted treatment effectiveness after only 1 week could be clinically useful. We examined a frontal quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) biomarker, the Antidepressant Treatment Response (ATR) index, as a predictor of response to escitalopram, and compared ATR with other putative predictors. Three hundred seventy-five subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for MDD had a baseline QEEG study. After 1 week of treatment with escitalopram, 10 mg, a second QEEG was performed, and the ATR was calculated. Subjects then were randomly assigned to continue with escitalopram, 10 mg, or change to alternative treatments. Seventy-three evaluable subjects received escitalopram for a total of 49 days. Response and remission rates were 52.1% and 38.4%, respectively. The ATR predicted both response and remission with 74% accuracy. Neither serum drug levels nor 5HTTLPR and 5HT2a genetic polymorphisms were significant predictors. Responders had larger decreases in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Ham-D17) scores at day 7 (P = 0.005), but remitters did not. Clinician prediction based upon global impression of improvement at day 7 did not predict outcome. Logistic regression showed that the ATR and early Ham-D17 changes were additive predictors of response, but the ATR was the only significant predictor of remission. Future studies should replicate these results prior to clinical use.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 124-131 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Psychiatry Research |
Volume | 169 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 30 2009 |
Funding
Aspect Medical Systems provided financial support of this project. Aspect participated in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation and review of the manuscript. Final approval of the form and content of the manuscript rests with the authors. Andrew Leuchter , M.D., has provided scientific consultation or served on advisory boards for Aspect Medical Systems, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, MEDACorp, AstraZeneca, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Merck & Co. He has served on a speaker's bureau for Eli Lilly and Company and Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals. He has received research/grant support from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Aspect Medical Systems, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co., Pfizer, Vivometrics, and MedAvante. He also is a minor stockholder in Aspect Medical Systems.
Keywords
- Antidepressant Treatment Response (ATR) index
- Escitalopram
- Genetic polymorphisms
- Major depression
- Predictors of treatment response
- Quantitative electroencephalography
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Biological Psychiatry