VALPROATE AS AN ANTIDEPRESSANT IN MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Thirty-three outpatients who met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) with no history of manic or hypomanic symptomatology we re enrolled in an 8-week open trial of valproate, By Week 4, 15 of the 28 completers (54%) demonstrated a significant clinical response as d efined by a score reduction of 50 percent or more or a total score of 9 or lower on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), Mean HR SD scores of the completers decreased 48.8 percent at Week 4 (p<.0001) . At Week 8, 19 of the 22 completers (86%) showed a significant respon se, Mean HRSD scores decreased from 22+/-5 at baseline to 7+/-4 at Wee k 8 (p<.0001), With the intent-to-treat analysis at Week 8, 66 percent were responders, and total group mean HRSD scores decreased 55 percen t (p<.0001), The data suggest that valproate may be an effective treat ment for MDD. Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are needed to fu rther document its efficacy in the treatment of MDD.