G. Petracca et al., A DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY OF CLOMIPRAMINE IN DEPRESSED-PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE, The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 8(3), 1996, pp. 270-275
Twenty-one depressed patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) w
ere randomized to receive a 6-week treatment with clomipramine or plac
ebo in a study with a double-blind crossover design. Main outcome meas
ures were Hamilton Depression, Mini-Mental State (MMSE), and Functiona
l Independence Measure (FIM) scores. Mood improved significantly on bo
th clomipramine and placebo, but clomipramine was siginificantly more
effective than placebo during the first 6-week treatment period. Patie
nts started on clomipramine maintained improvement during the washout
and placebo periods, whereas patients started on placebo worsened duri
ng the washout period. However, patients on clomipramine showed signif
icantly lower MMSE scores overall than patients on placebo. No signifi
cant drug effects were found on FIM scores. Clomipramine proved to be
a useful treatment of depression in patients with probable AD.