Our library of drug research abstracts drawn from the medical literature is updated on a regular schedule, and you can be assured that new zoloft research articles will be listed here shortly after becoming available to us.
Medical research on zoloft
J Fluoresc. 2010 Jan 26;
Mahmoud AM, Darwish IA, Khalil NY
A fluorometric study has been carried out, for the first time, to investigate the reaction of the new generation antidepressant sertraline (SRT) with 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-Cl). In an alkaline buffered medium (pH 8.0), a green fluorescent product exhibiting maximum fluorescence intensity at 532 nm after excitation at 470 nm was produced. The factors affecting the reaction were carefully studied and the conditions were optimized. The kinetics of the reaction was investigated, the stoichiometry of the reaction was determined, and the mechanism was postulated. The activation energy of the reaction was determined and found to be 27.34 KJ mole(-1). Under the optimum reaction conditions, a linear relationship with good correlation coefficient (r = 0.9998, n = 6) was found between the fluorescence intensity of the reaction product and SRT concentrations in the range of 0.3-20.0 microg ml(-1). The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.07 and 0.21 microg ml(-1), respectively. The intra- and inter-assay precisions were satisfactory; the relative standard deviations did not exceed 2.61%. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of SRT in its pharmaceutical tablets with good accuracy; the recovery percentages were 96.97-102.23 +/- 1.01-1.62%. The results were compared favorably with those of the reported method.
Metabolomic Differences in Heart Failure Patients With and Without Major Depression.
J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2010 Jan 25;
Steffens DC, Jiang W, Krishnan KR, Karoly ED, Mitchell MW, O'Connor CM, Kaddurah-Daouk R
Metabolomics is an emerging technology that allows researchers to characterize hundreds of small molecules that comprise the metabolome. We sought to determine metabolic differences in depressed and nondepressed participants. The sample consisted of a depressed group of patients with heart failure enrolled in an NIMH-supported clinical trial of sertraline versus placebo in depressed heart failure patients, and a nondepressed comparator group of heart failure patients. Plasma was obtained from blood samples provided by participants at baseline, and samples were profiled on GC-MS and LC-MS metabolomics platforms for biochemical content. A number of biochemicals were significantly different between groups, with depressed participants showing higher concentrations of several amino acids and dicarboxylic fatty acids. These results are consistent with prior findings where changes in neurotransmitter systems and fatty acid metabolism were shown to associate with the depressed state. It is unclear what role heart failure may have played in these differing concentrations.
Can psychopharmacological treatment change personality traits in patients with panic disorder?
Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2009 Dec; 31(4): 307-13
Kipper L, Wachleski C, Salum GA, Heldt E, Blaya C, Manfro GG
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects that a particular psychopharmacological treatment has on personality patterns in patients with panic disorder. METHOD: Forty-seven patients with panic disorder and 40 controls were included in the study. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory were used to assess Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, diagnoses and personality traits, respectively. Patients were treated with sertraline for 16 weeks. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in the score on 8 of the 10 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory scales. In addition, neurotic triad and psychasthenia personality scores were higher among panic disorder patients, even during the posttreatment asymptomatic phase, than among controls. CONCLUSION: In the asymptomatic phase of the disease, panic disorder patients present a particular neurotic/anxious personality pattern. This pattern, although altered in the presence of acute symptoms, could be a focus of research.
Sertraline versus other antidepressive agents for depression.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010; CD006117
Cipriani A, La Ferla T, Furukawa TA, Signoretti A, Nakagawa A, Churchill R, McGuire H, Barbui C
BACKGROUND: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical practice guideline on the treatment of depressive disorder recommended that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors should be the first-line option when drug therapy is indicated for a depressive episode. Preliminary evidence suggested that sertraline might be slightly superior in terms of effectiveness. OBJECTIVES: To assess the evidence for the efficacy, acceptability and tolerability of sertraline in comparison with tricyclics (TCAs), heterocyclics, other SSRIs and newer agents in the acute-phase treatment of major depression. SEARCH STRATEGY: MEDLINE (1966 to 2008), EMBASE (1974 to 2008), the Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Controlled Trials Register and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials up to July 2008. No language restriction was applied. Reference lists of relevant papers and previous systematic reviews were hand-searched. Pharmaceutical companies and experts in this field were contacted for supplemental data. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials allocating patients with major depression to sertraline versus any other antidepressive agent. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted data. Discrepancies were resolved with another member of the team. A double-entry procedure was employed by two reviewers. Information extracted included study characteristics, participant characteristics, intervention details and outcome measures in terms of efficacy (the number of patients who responded or remitted), acceptability (the number of patients who failed to complete the study) and tolerability (side-effects). MAIN RESULTS: A total of 59 studies, mostly of low quality, were included in the review, involving multiple treatment comparisons between sertraline and other antidepressant agents. Evidence favouring sertraline over some other antidepressants for the acute phase treatment of major depression was found, either in terms of efficacy (fluoxetine) or acceptability/tolerability (amitriptyline, imipramine, paroxetine and mirtazapine). However, some differences favouring newer antidepressants in terms of efficacy (mirtazapine) and acceptability (bupropion) were also found. In terms of individual side effects, sertraline was generally associated with a higher rate of participants experiencing diarrhoea. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review and meta-analysis highlighted a trend in favour of sertraline over other antidepressive agents both in terms of efficacy and acceptability, using 95% confidence intervals and a conservative approach, with a random effects analysis. However, the included studies did not report on all the outcomes that were pre-specified in the protocol of this review. Outcomes of clear relevance to patients and clinicians were not reported in any of the included studies.
Sertraline for the Treatment of Depression in Alzheimer Disease.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010 Feb; 18(2): 136-145
Rosenberg PB, Drye LT, Martin BK, Frangakis C, Mintzer JE, Weintraub D, Porsteinsson AP, Schneider LS, Rabins PV, Munro CA, Meinert CL, Lyketsos CG,
OBJECTIVE:: Depression is common in Alzheimer disease (AD), and antidepressants are commonly used for its treatment, however, evidence for antidepressant efficacy in this population is lacking. The authors conducted a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial titled "Depression in Alzheimer's Disease-2" to assess the efficacy and tolerability of sertraline for depression in AD. METHODS:: One hundred thirty-one participants from five U.S. medical centers with mild-to-moderate AD (Mini-Mental State Examination scores 10-26) and depression of AD were randomized to double-blinded treatment with sertraline (N = 67) or placebo (N = 64), with a target dosage of 100 mg daily. Efficacy was assessed using logistic regressions and mixed effects models in an intention-to-treat analysis with imputation of missing data. Principal outcome measures were modified Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Clinical Global Impression of Change (mADCS-CGIC), change in Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) scores, and remission defined by both mADCS-CGIC score
Pulmonary fibrosis associated with psychotropic drug therapy: a case report.
J Med Case Reports. 2009; 3: 126
Thornton C, Maher TM, Hansell D, Nicholson AG, Wells AU
INTRODUCTION: Sertraline and Risperidone are commonly used psychotropic drugs. Sertraline has previously been associated with eosinopilic pneumonia. Neither drug is recognised as a cause of diffuse fibrotic lung disease. Our report represents the first such case. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the case of a 33 year old Asian male with chronic schizophrenia who had been treated for three years with sertraline and risperidone. He presented to hospital in respiratory failure following a six month history of progressive breathlessness. High resolution CT scan demonstrated diffuse pulmonary fibrosis admixed with patchy areas of consolidation. Because the aetiology of this man's diffuse parenchymal lung disease remained unclear a surgical lung biopsy was undertaken. Histological assessment disclosed widespread fibrosis with marked eosinophillic infiltration and associated organising pneumonia - features all highly suggestive of drug induced lung disease. Following withdrawal of both sertraline and risperidone and initiation of corticosteroid therapy the patient's respiratory failure resolved and three years later he remains well albeit limited by breathlessness on heavy exertion. CONCLUSION: Drug induced lung disease can be rapidly progressive and if drug exposure continues may result in respiratory failure and death. Prompt recognition is critical as drug withdrawal may result in marked resolution of disease. This case highlights sertraline and risperidone as drugs that may, in susceptible individuals, cause diffuse pulmonary fibrosis.
Forensic Sci Int. 2010 Jan 7;
O'Brien L, Baumer C, Thieme D, Sachs H, Koren G
BACKGROUND: Depression and other psychiatric illnesses are common during pregnancy and are often treated with antidepressants. Physiological changes of pregnancy may alter the pharmacokinetics of medications and ultimately affect the dose required to maintain effective therapy. Human hair offers a safe, non-invasive way to monitor long term systemic exposures to medications. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the ratio of hair antidepressant: major metabolite differed when early and late pregnancy was compared to the postpartum period. METHODS: Segmental analyses using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry were performed on hair samples. The mean concentration of parent compound and metabolite was found for each trimester and the postpartum period. RESULTS: Twelve women provided hair samples of which nine samples were long enough to analyze the first and third trimesters along with the postpartum period. Citalopram, venlafaxine, fluoxetine and sertraline were the antidepressants studied. In the citalopram group, a statistically significant difference existed between the citalopram:norcitalopram ratio when the first trimester was compared to the postpartum period (0.89+/-0.26 versus 1.4+/-0.24 respectively, p=0.022). A statistically significant difference also existed between the third trimester and the postpartum period for the citalopram group (0.9+/-0.14 and 1.4+/-0.24 respectively, p=0.048). No other statistically significant differences were found. CONCLUSION: It is important that variations in drug metabolism during pregnancy be considered as these changes may necessitate a dosage adjustment to ensure that therapeutic failure does not occur during pregnancy.
The cholinergic system, sigma-1 receptors and cognition.
Behav Brain Res. 2010 Jan 7;
van Waarde A, Ramakrishnan NK, Rybczynska AA, Elsinga PH, Ishiwata K, Nijholt IM, Luiten PG, Dierckx RA
This article provides an overview of present knowledge regarding the relationship between the cholinergic system and sigma-1 receptors, and discusses potential applications of sigma-1 receptor agonists in the treatment of memory deficits and cognitive disorders. Sigma-1 receptors, initially considered as a subtype of the opioid family, are unique ligand-regulated molecular chaperones in the endoplasmatic reticulum playing a modulatory role in intracellular calcium signaling and in the activity of several neurotransmitter systems, particularly the cholinergic and glutamatergic pathways. Several central nervous system (CNS) drugs show high to moderate affinities for sigma-1 receptors, including acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil), antipsychotics (haloperidol, rimcazole), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (fluvoxamine, sertraline) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (clorgyline). These compounds can influence cognitive functions both via their primary targets and by activating sigma-1 receptors in the CNS. Sigma-1 agonists show powerful anti-amnesic and neuroprotective effects in a large variety of animal models of cognitive dysfunction involving, among others (i) pharmacologic target blockade (with muscarinic or NMDA receptor antagonists or p-chloroamphetamine); (ii) selective lesioning of cholinergic neurons; (iii) CNS administration of beta-amyloid peptides; (iv) aging-induced memory loss, both in normal and senescent-accelerated rodents; (v) neurodegeneration induced by toxic compounds (CO, trimethyltin, cocaine), and (vi) prenatal restraint stress.
Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS): rationale, design, and methods.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2010 Jan 5; 4(1): 1
Compton SN, Walkup JT, Albano AM, Piacentini JC, Birmaher B, Sherrill JT, Ginsburg GS, Rynn MA, McCracken JT, Waslick BD, Iyengar S, Kendall PC, March JS
ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: To present the design, methods, and rationale of the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS), a recently completed federally-funded multi-site randomized placebo-controlled trial that examined the relative efficacy of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), sertraline (SRT), and their combination (COMB) against pill placebo (PBO) for the treatment of separation (SAD) and generalized anxiety disorders (GAD) and social phobia (SoP) in children and adolescents. METHOD: Following a brief review of the acute outcomes of the CAMS trial, as well as the psychosocial and pharmacologic treatment literature for pediatric anxiety disorders, the design and methods of the CAMS trial will be described. RESULTS: CAMS was a six-year, six-site, randomized controlled trail. Four hundred eighty-eight (N=488) children and adolescents (ages 7-17 years) with DSM-IV-TR diagnoses of SAD, GAD, or SoP were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: CBT, SRT, COMB, or PBO. Assessments of anxiety symptoms, safety, and functional outcomes, as well as putative mediators and moderators of treatment response were completed in an explicitly multi-measure, multi-informant fashion. Manual-based therapies, trained clinicians and independent evaluators were used to ensure treatment and assessment fidelity. A multi-layered administrative structure with representation from all sites facilitated cross-site coordination of the protocol and quality assurance. CONCLUSIONS: CAMS offers a model for clinical trials methods applicable to psychosocial and psychopharmacological comparative treatment trials. CAMS also provided a large-scale examination of the relative and combined efficacy and safety of the best evidenced-based psychosocial (CBT) and pharmacologic (SSRI) treatments to date for the most commonly occurring pediatric anxiety disorders. CAMS utilized state-of-the-art methods and rigorous cross-site quality controls. Primary and secondary results of CAMS will hold important implications for informing practice-relevant decisions regarding the initial treatment of youth with anxiety disorders. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00052078.
Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2009 Nov 29; 30(5):
Pav M, Kovaru H, Kovaru F, Lisa V, Ondrackova-Zelnickova P, Fiserova A
OBJECTIVES: Neurochemical studies on the etiopathogenesis of depression are also focusing on the transduction system beyond receptors. Trimeric G-proteins play a crucial role in the transmembrane signalling, signal amplification and intracellular processing. Abnormalities of G-protein levels are observed in subjects with depression, G-protein modulation is considered to play a role in the antidepressant mode of action. METHODS: We studied acute or chronic administration of antidepressants from different pharmacological groups. We used immunochemical estimation (ELISA) of the main types of G-protein alpha subunits from isolated membranes of C6 glioma cells and rat brain tissue. RESULTS: Significant elevation of G alpha q/11 subunits after chronic administration of sertraline and significant reduction of G alpha s subunit levels following both acute and chronic administrations of sertraline were found. In contrast, no significant effects on G alpha subunit levels following acute desipramine and moclobemide administration were observed in vitro. Chronic moclobemide effect in vivo is causing significant elevation of Galpha s and Galpha i1,2 subunit levels. CONCLUSIONS: Results show involvement of antidepressant drugs in the C6 glioma signal transduction cascades modulation in dependence on the antidepressant class. Significant influence in the cAMP system modulation is observed after administration both SSRI and MAOA inhibitors. Astrocytoma cells - C6 glioma cells also can offer a model system of the glia where modulation of cell signalization cascades can influence cell functioning and production of neurotrophic factor molecules relevant to the antidepressant tratment and depression etiopathogenesis.