Simvastatin as an adjuvant therapy to fluoxetine in patients with moderate to
severe major depression: A double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Author(s): Gougol A(1), Zareh-Mohammadi N(1), Raheb S(1), Farokhnia M(1), Salimi S(2),
Iranpour N(1), Yekehtaz H(1), Akhondzadeh S(3).
Affiliation(s): Author information:
(1)Psychiatric Research Center, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical
Sciences, Tehran, Iran. (2)Baharloo Hospital, Tehran University of Medical
Sciences, Tehran, Iran. (3)Psychiatric Research Center, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran
University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran s.akhond@neda.net.
Publication date & source: 2015, J Psychopharmacol. , 29(5):575-81
Statins have been shown to decrease depressive symptoms in certain groups of
patients, an effect that is mostly attributed to their anti-inflammatory and
neurotransmitter modulatory potentials. We aimed to investigate the
antidepressant effects of simvastatin as an adjuvant therapy in patients with
moderate to severe depression. In this double-blind placebo-controlled clinical
trial, 48 patients were randomly allocated to receive simvastatin or placebo as
an adjunct to fluoxetine for six weeks. Patients were evaluated with the Hamilton
Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) at baseline and weeks 2, 4 and 6. Probable
clinical and laboratory adverse events were also monitored and compared between
the two groups. Simvastatin-treated patients experienced significantly more
reductions in HDRS scores compared to the placebo group by the end of the trial
(p=0.02). Early improvement and response rates were significantly greater in the
simvastatin group than the placebo group (p=0.02 and p=0.01, respectively) but
remission rate was not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.36).
No serious adverse event was reported during this trial. In conclusion,
simvastatin seems to be a safe and effective adjuvant therapy for patients
suffering from major depressive disorder. However, more confirmatory studies are
warranted.
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