Treatment Resistant Geriatric Depression in Primary Care

Completed · Phase 1

Conditions studied: Major Depressive Disorder

In brief

This study involves collaboration between McLean Hospital, Geriatric Medicine at the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) and other sites within the Partners and Harvard Medical School network. The investigators plan to recruit individuals 55 to 89 years old with treatment resistant depression. Someone with "treatment resistant" depression for this study may be someone who still has sad or low feelings and thoughts even though he/she is taking an antidepressant medication for at least 8 weeks to help relieve his/her depression. During the study, subjects will gradually add memantine hydrochloride in dosages up to 20 mg/day for 8 weeks to their standard antidepressant treatment. The investigators are doing this research study to help answer 3 questions: 1. Do older adults with treatment resistant Major Depression have lower levels of a chemical in the brain called NAAG than older adults without Major Depression? 2. Do older adults with naturally low NAAG levels do better on memantine hydrochloride treatment than older adults with higher amounts of this chemical on memantine hydrochloride treatment? 3. Do older adults with treatment resistant depression have more problems with memory and concentration than older adults without depression? The investigators are also interested in looking at electrical and neuronal activity of the brain, spiritual beliefs, and fatigue in relationship to depression. The investigators hypothesize that: 1. Older individuals with treatment resistant Major Depression will have lower levels of NAAG compared with age-matched older control subjects. 2. Older adults with treatment resistant depression and low NAAG levels will do better on treatment with memantine hydrochloride than older adults on memantine with higher NAAG levels. 3. Older adults with depression will do better on tests of attention and executive functioning after treatment with memantine hydrochloride. 4. Healthy controls will do better on tests of attention and executive functioning than older adults with depression.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT01392287
Run by
Mclean Hospital
People needed
12
Starts
2010-05-01
Expected to finish
2012-04-01
Last updated by the study team
2017-02-01

Who can join

Age: 55 and older, up to 89. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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