Early augmentation of sertraline with methylphenidate
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Article AbstractLetter to the EditorSir: Augmentation of ineffective or partially effective selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) with methylphenidate appears to be empirically rapid, safe, and efficacious. It had been speculated that stimulants might not only augment SSRIs, but might also shorten the response latency to SSRIs if coadministered early in the course of treatment. No controlled studies on the efficacy of an early combination of an SSRI and a stimulant have been previously reported.
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These findings are generally consistent with published findings for psychostimulant and modafinil augmentation studies for MDD and with the conclusions of published meta-analyses.
“but they are generally consistent with published findings for psychostimulant (Patkar et al., 2006;Postolache et al., 1999;Ravindran et al., 2008) and modafinil augmentation studies for MDD (DeBattista et al., 2003;Dunlop et al., 2007;Fava et al., 2007) and with the conclusions of published meta-analyses (Candy et al., 2008;Fleurence et al., 2009).”
From Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate augmentation for adults with major depressive disorder and inadequate response to antidepressant monotherapy: Results from 2 phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies (2016) · cites this paper as Postolache et al., 1999
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The timing of antidepressant effects: a comparison of diverse pharmacological and somatic treatments
Machado-Vieira, R., Baumann, J., Wheeler-Castillo, C., Latov, D., Henter, I. D., Salvadore, G., & Zarate, C. A. (2010) · Pharmaceuticals · doi:10.3390/ph3010019 · Cited by 263 · see citing works
“A double-blind, placebo-controlled study failed to show an earlier onset of antidepressant effects using methylphenidate as add-on therapy to sertraline [81], and a subsequent study also found no difference between placebo and adjunctive methylphenidate for treatment-resistant MDD [82].”
BackgroundPsychostimulants for depression
Candy, B., Jones, L., Williams, R., Tookman, A., & King, M. (2008) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd006722.pub2 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Hardy, S. E. (2009) · The American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.amjopharm.2009.02.006 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
The Efficacy of Psychostimulants in Major Depressive Episodes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
McIntyre, R. S., Lee, Y., Zhou, A. J., Rosenblat, J. D., Peters, E. M., Lam, R. W., Kennedy, S. H., Rong, C., & Jerrell, J. M. (2017) · Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1097/jcp.0000000000000723 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Palliativmedizin, S.-L., Alt‐Epping, B., Bausewein, C., Voltz, R., Simon, S. T., Pralong, A., & Simon, A. (2020) · Forum · doi:10.1007/s12312-020-00794-z · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Methylphenidate augmentation of citalopram in elderly depressed patients.
Lavretsky, H., & Kumar, A. (2001) · The American journal of geriatric psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00019442-200108000-00015 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Psychostimulants in the Treatment of Depression
Orr, K., & Taylor, D. (2007) · CNS Drugs · doi:10.2165/00023210-200721030-00004 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Hutson, P. H., Tarazi, F. I., Madhoo, M., Slawecki, C., & Patkar, A. A. (2014) · Pharmacology & Therapeutics · doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2014.03.005 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“However, multiple studies did not report significant improvements in depressive symptoms following augmentation with methylphenidate (Postolache et al., 1999; Patkar et al., 2006; Ravindran et al., 2008) or the wake-promoting agent modafinil (DeBattista et al.”
BackgroundAbbasowa, L., Kessing, L., & Vinberg, M. (2013) · Nordic Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.3109/08039488.2012.752035 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Richards, C., McIntyre, R. S., Weisler, R., Sambunaris, A., Brawman-Mintzer, O., Gao, J., Geibel, B., Dauphin, M., & Madhoo, M. (2016) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.07.006 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
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Dunner, D. L. (2004) · Humana Press · doi:10.1007/978-1-59259-792-5 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Psychostimulants dans le traitement de la dépression
Richieri, R. M., Adida, M., Boyer, L., & Lançon, C. (2012) · La Presse Médicale · doi:10.1016/j.lpm.2012.04.020 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Seizures Induced by the Combination Treatment of Methylphenidate and Sertraline
Schertz, M., & Steinberg, T. (2008) · Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology · doi:10.1089/cap.2007.0141 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“While the above reports examined the use of MPH and an SSRI, there have been only 3 reports (McGlohn and Bostwick 1995; Postolache et al., 1999; Feeney and Klykylo 1997) that specifically reported on the use of sertraline and methylphenidate.”
Beyond ADHD and narcolepsy: psychostimulants in general psychiatry
Ng, B., & O'Brien, A. (2009) · Advances in Psychiatric Treatment · doi:10.1192/apt.bp.107.004879 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“The two negative RCTs using methylphenidate as an augmentation agent compared with placebo in adults with major depression showed no statisti cally significant improvement or accelerated response (Postolache 1999; Patkar 2006).”
Richards, C., Iosifescu, D. V., Mago, R., Sarkis, E., Reynolds, J., Geibel, B., & Dauphin, M. (2017) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881117722998 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“The lack of efficacy in the current study is consistent with the published literature describing the effects of stimulant augmentation for MDD in general (Candy et al., 2008; Fleurence et al., 2009; Patkar et al., 2006; Postolache et al., 1999; Ravindran et al., 2008) and with the phase 3 studies of LDX augmentation f…”
BackgroundResultFrölich, J., Lehmkuhl, G., & Döpfner, M. (2010) · Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie · doi:10.1024/1422-4917.a000002 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Adult ADHD: Questioning Diagnosis and Treatment in a Patient with Multiple Psychiatric Comorbidities
Chu, R., Rosic, T., & Samaan, Z. (2017) · Case Reports in Psychiatry · doi:10.1155/2017/1364894 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Another study that compared sertraline therapy augmented with methylphenidate to sertraline alone failed to demonstrate a significant difference in outcomes [35].”
ResultKumari, B., Kar, S. K., Singh, A. K., Tripathi, A., & Agarwal, V. (2023) · Indian Journal of Behavioural Sciences · doi:10.55229/ijbs.v26i1.05
La asociación psiquiátrica de América Latina
Rojas, R. N. C. (2014) · Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría · doi:10.1016/j.rcp.2014.06.001
Taylor, D., Paton, C., & Kerwin, R. (2009) · The “Troubled” Adolescent · doi:10.3109/9780203092835-5
Should amphetamines be added to SSRI therapy to enhance the antidepressant effect?
Singh, V., & Malone, D. (2001) · Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine · doi:10.3949/ccjm.68.9.748
The Search for Rapid Acting Antidepressants: Research Synthesis and Perspectives
Sanacora, G., Kitay, B. M., & Wilkinson, S. T. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-813333-0.00035-4
Psychostimulants in the treatment of depressive disorders
Ekinci, O., Ekinci, A., & Bölek, S. (2014) · Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry · doi:10.5455/cap.20141201111428
- Authors
- Postolache, T. T., Rosenthal, R. N., Hellerstein, D. J., Aromin, R., Kelton, G. M., Muran, J. C., & Londono, J. H.
- Venue
- The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc
- Published
- 1999-02-15
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 123-124
- ISSN
- 0160-6689 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2002444944
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Keywords
- sertraline, methylphenidate, augmentation therapy, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, stimulants, antidepressant combination therapy, depression
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Ambulatory Care, Central Nervous System Stimulants, Depressive Disorder, Double-Blind Method, Drug Administration Schedule, Drug Therapy, Combination, Female, Humans, Male, Methylphenidate, Middle Aged, Placebos, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Treatment Outcome, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Sertraline
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