CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 90Treatment of Major DepressionHormonal and reproductive studiesStress Responses and Cortisol

Parallel-Group Placebo-Controlled Trial of Testosterone Gel in Men With Major Depressive Disorder Displaying an Incomplete Response to Standard Antidepressant Treatment

Pope, Harrison G., Amiaz, Revital, Brennan, Brian P., Orr, Guy, Weiser, Mark, Kelly, John F., Kanayama, Gen, Siegel, Arthur +2 more·2010·Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
DOI 10.1097/jcp.0b013e3181d207ca
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Exogenous testosterone therapy has psychotropic effects and has been proposed as an antidepressant augmentation strategy for depressed men. We sought to assess the antidepressant effects of testosterone augmentation of a serotonergic antidepressant in depressed, hypogonadal men. For this study, we recruited 100 medically healthy adult men with major depressive disorder showing partial response or no response to an adequate serotonergic antidepressant trial during the current episode and a screening total testosterone level of 350 ng/dL or lower. We randomized these men to receive testosterone gel or placebo gel in addition to their existing antidepressant regimen. The primary outcome measure was the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score. Secondary measures included the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, the Clinical Global Impression Scale, and the Quality of Life Scale. Our primary analysis, using a mixed effects linear regression model to compare rate of change of scores between groups on the outcome measures, failed to show a significant difference between groups (mean [95% confidence interval] 6-week change in HDRS for testosterone vs placebo, -0.4 [-2.6 to 1.8]). However, in one exploratory analysis of treatment responders, we found a possible trend in favor of testosterone on the HDRS. Our findings, combined with the conflicting data from earlier smaller studies, suggest that testosterone is not generally effective for depressed men. The possibility remains that testosterone might benefit a particular subgroup of depressed men, but if so, the characteristics of this subgroup would still need to be established.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1097/jcp.0b013e3181d207ca

Cites

58 of 58 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Effects of testosterone on depressive mood become detectable after 3-6 weeks, with a maximum after 18-30 weeks.

    “Effects on depressive mood become detectable after 3–6 weeks with a maximum after 18–30 weeks.”

    From Onset of effects of testosterone treatment and time span until maximum effects are achieved (2011) · cites this paper as [78]

  • In severely depressed men, effects of testosterone replacement therapy by gel versus placebo are observed within 6 weeks, but the effect is not consistent within the whole group.

    “In a larger set of severely depressed men (n=2×50), effects of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) by gel versus placebo were observed within 6 weeks. The effect was not consistent within the whole group of patients.”

    From Onset of effects of testosterone treatment and time span until maximum effects are achieved (2011) · cites this paper as [78]

  • Positive effects of testosterone on depressive symptoms start as early as after 3-6 weeks, but most likely take 18-30 weeks to find a patient with significant improvement.

    “It is very likely that the positive effects of testosterone on depressive symptoms start as early as after 3–6 weeks, but will most likely take 18–30 weeks to find the patient with a significant improvement.”

    From Onset of effects of testosterone treatment and time span until maximum effects are achieved (2011) · cites this paper as [78]

  • In severe clinical depression, receptiveness for testosterone effects likely depends on the overall pattern of disturbed neurotransmitters, especially noradrenaline and serotonin, and baseline testosterone concentrations.

    “It is likely that, in severe clinical depression, the receptiveness for testosterone effects depends on the overall pattern of disturbed neurotransmitters, especially noradrenaline and serotonin, and also baseline testosterone concentrations (78).”

    From Onset of effects of testosterone treatment and time span until maximum effects are achieved (2011) · cites this paper as [78]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Pope, H. G., Amiaz, R., Brennan, B. P., Orr, G., Weiser, M., Kelly, J. F., Kanayama, G., Siegel, A., Hudson, J. I., & Seidman, S. N.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Sheba Medical Center (IL)
  • New York State Psychiatric Institute (US)
Corresponding author
  • Pope, Harrison G.
  • Brennan, Brian P.
  • Kelly, John F.
  • Kanayama, Gen
  • Siegel, Arthur
  • Hudson, James I.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2010-04
Volume
30
Issue
2
Pages
126-134
ISSN
0271-0749 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/jcp.0b013e3181d207ca
OpenAlex
W2076250444
Cited by
90
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 7
FWCI
6.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Hormonal and reproductive studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Keywords
testosterone replacement therapy, major depressive disorder, antidepressant augmentation, hypogonadism, men, serotonergic antidepressants, treatment-resistant depression, testosterone gel, quality of life
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Antidepressive Agents, Major Depressive Disorder, Double-Blind Method, Gels, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Quality of Life, Testosterone, Single-Blind Method, Treatment Outcome

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review