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Cited by 71Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthDeath, Funerary Practices, and MourningTreatment of Major Depression

Pharmacological approaches to the treatment of complicated grief: rationale and a brief review of the literature

Open access
Bui, Eric, Nadal-Vicens, Mireya, M. Simon, Naomi·2012·Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience
DOI 10.31887/dcns.2012.14.2/ebuiPMC PMC3384443
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Abstract

Complicated grief (CG) is a common and often under-acknowledged cause of profound impairment experienced after the loss of a loved one. Although both clinical and basic research suggests that pharmacological agents might be of use in the treatment of CG, research on pharmacological approaches to this condition is still scarce. Three open-label trials and one randomized trial on bereavement-related depression suggest that tricyclic antidepressants may be effective, although they may be more efficacious for depressive symptoms than for grief-specific symptoms. Four open-label trials (total number of participants, 50) of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have yielded results, providing very preliminary support that they might be effective in the treatment of CG, both as a standalone treatment and in conjunction with psychotherapeutic interventions. These more recent studies have shown an effect on both depression and grief-specific scales. Furthermore, therapeutic interventions for CG may be more effective in conjunction with SSRI administration. Given the small number of pharmacological studies to date, there is a need for randomized trials to test the potential efficacy of pharmacological agents in the treatment of CG.

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Crossref · 10.31887/dcns.2012.14.2/ebui

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  • In trials where tricyclic antidepressants were used, improvement was insignificant.

    “In the trials where tricyclic antidepressants were used, improvement was insignificant.”

    From Prolonged grief disorder treatment: An approach to COVID-19 grief (2023) · cites this paper as Bui et al., 2012

    In “Early research: bereavement-related depression” (page unavailable), the review reports no differential effect on grief intensity in a nortriptyline trial and describes grief improvement in another as clinically marginal. But it also reports significant improvement in depressive symptoms with nortriptyline. The unqualified claim that improvement was insignificant in trials using tricyclic antidepressants therefore overstates the findings. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Psychotherapeutic interventions for prolonged grief may be more effective in combination with the administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

    “The most recent studies show that psychotherapeutic interventions for pro-longed grief may be more effective in combination with the administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs; Bui, Nadal-Vicens, & Simon, 2012).”

    From Prolonged grief disorder treatment: An approach to COVID-19 grief (2023) · cites this paper as Bui, Nadal-Vicens, & Simon, 2012

  • With the use of benzodiazepines (Diazepam), there are insufficient reports of primary efficacy coupled with increased problems of insomnia.

    “In the case of bupropion, there was a dropout rate of almost 40%, wherea with the use of benzodiazepines (Diazepam), there are insufficient reports of primary efficacy coupled with in-creased problems of insomnia (Bui et al., 2012).”

    From Prolonged grief disorder treatment: An approach to COVID-19 grief (2023) · cites this paper as Bui et al., 2012

  • In the case of bupropion, there was a dropout rate of almost 40%.

    “In the case of bupropion, there was a dropout rate of almost 40%, wherea with the use of benzodiazepines (Diazepam), there are insufficient reports of primary efficacy coupled with in-creased problems of insomnia (Bui et al., 2012).”

    From Prolonged grief disorder treatment: An approach to COVID-19 grief (2023) · cites this paper as Bui et al., 2012

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [7]Zisook S. Simon NM. Reynolds CF 3rd. et al. Bereavement, complicated grief, and DSM; part 2: complicated grief. J Clin Psychiatry. 2010 71 1097 1098 20797383 PMC3754834
  2. [13]Stein DJ. Ipser JC. Seedat S. Pharmacotherapy for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006:CD002795 PMC6993948 16437445
  3. [37]Lebowitz BD. Wang Y. Duan N. et al. Randomization strategies for clustered clinical syndromes: effects on statistical power. In: 2010 Autumn Conference of the International Society for CNS Cliniclal Trials and Methodology. Baltimore, MD; 2010

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Authors
Bui, E., Nadal-Vicens, M., & M. Simon, N.
Affiliations
  • Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Laboratoire du Stress Traumatique (EA4560), CHU de Toulouse & Université Toulouse 3, Toulouse, France
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Venue
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2012-06-30
Volume
14
Issue
2
Pages
149-157
ISSN
  • 1294-8322 (ISSN-L)
  • 1958-5969
DOI
10.31887/dcns.2012.14.2/ebui
PMC
PMC3384443
OpenAlex
W4323284449
Cited by
71
References
41
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 2
FWCI
8.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
complicated grief, pharmacotherapy, tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, loss of a loved one
MeSH terms
Adjustment Disorders, Antidepressive Agents, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Major, Grief, Humans, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

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