Development of a Rating Scale for Depressive Illness

Author(s):  
B�rje Cronholm ◽  
Daisy Schalling ◽  
Marie �sberg
1995 ◽  
Vol 166 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelius L. E. Katona ◽  
Mohammed T. Abou-Saleh ◽  
Deborah A. Harrison ◽  
Bertrand A. Nairac ◽  
Denzil R. L. Edwards ◽  
...  

BackgroundThis study was designed to establish whether (as suggested in a number of open and relatively small controlled trials) lithium augmentation is more effective than continued antidepressant alone, where response to a standard course of antidepressant treatment has been absent or partial.MethodLithium or placebo was added on a double-blind basis for six weeks to the drug regime of 62 patients with major depressive illness (in both hospital and primary care settings) who had failed to respond to a controlled trial of fluoxetine or lofepramine. Response was defined as a final Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score of < 10.ResultsResponse was seen more frequently in patients taking lithium (15/29) than in those remaining on antidepressant alone (8/32; P < 0.05). Rapid response to lithium augmentation (LA) was not consistently observed in this cohort. Mean HDRS scores after six weeks were significantly lower (P < 0.01) in the lithium group after excluding those who had not achieved significant exposure to lithium (arbitrarily defined as two or more lithium levels ≥ 0.4 mmol/1). No differences in the efficacy of LA were apparent between fluoxetine and lofepramine.ConclusionsOur results confirm that LA is a useful strategy in the treatment of antidepressant-resistant depression. Partial response was, however, frequently observed with continued antidepressant treatment alone, and the superiority of LA appears to depend on achieving adequate serum lithium levels.


1979 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Levine

The author describes a controlled, double-blind, comparative trial of a new tetracyclic compound, ciclazindol (WY 23409), against amitriptyline in the treatment of thirty-five patients admitted to hospital with depressive illness. Each patient was randomly allocated to three weeks treatment with either 50 mg b.d. ciclazindol or 50 mg b.d. amitriptyline. In the event of a poor response the dose level was raised to 75 mg b.d. Separation of cases of endogenous depression and severity of depression were assessed by the Levine-Pilowsky Depression Questionnaire, a self-rating technique. Severity of depression was also assessed using the Hamilton Rating Scale. No significant difference was noted between the drugs in either the degree or the rate of response nor when the endogenous cases alone were studied. The interesting observation was made that only one-third of ciclazindol patients gained weight compared to almost three-quarters of the amitriptyline group and the mean weight gain of the latter was over double that of the ciclazindol group. The author concludes that ciclazindol offers promise and merits further study using higher dosage levels once its full safety trials have been completed.


1989 ◽  
Vol 155 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheikh Idris A. Rahim ◽  
Marianne Cederblad

Two hundred and four subjects, 22–35 years old, were selected from a surburban part of Khartoum. They were assessed using the Self-Rating Questionnaire, the Eysenck Personality Inventory, and a Sudanese rating scale of anxiety and depression. Socio-economic information was collected. A psychiatric interview and a medical examination were carried out. It was found that 40.3% had at least one psychiatric symptom, and 16.6% received clinical diagnoses according to DSM-III. The most common diagnoses were depressive illness (neurotic and endogenous) (8.4%) and generalised anxiety (3.4%). Alcohol abuse was very rare (0.4%). There was no sex difference.


1989 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 814-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Cooper ◽  
R. Finlayson ◽  
V.R. Velamoor ◽  
R.V. Magnus ◽  
Z. Cernovsky

Fourteen males with major depressive illness (DSM-III) received a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Serum prolactin (PRL), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone (T), were measured 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after each treatment. The severity of depression was assessed with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) two to three days before the first and two to three days following the last treatment. Post-ECT levels of PRL and LH were significantly higher than pre-ECT levels across every treatment. Changes in FSH and testosterone were not significant. There were no relationships between hormone levels (first versus last ECT) and severity of depression, including sexual functioning. It is argued that the relatively greater increases of LH than FSH is due to an acute antidopaminergic action of ECT which acts selectively on the secretion of the former. The blunted testosterone response to the increase of gonadotropins may be due to ECT-induced hyperprolactinemia.


1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. C. Lyketsos ◽  
Ivy M. Blackburn ◽  
J. Tsiantis

SynopsisSixteen depressed in-patients from a hospital in Athens were assessed using the Hamilton Rating Scale and the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire. Comparison of admission, discharge and mid-treatment scores showed that:(1) There was a larger drop in depression score in the first half of treatment.(2) Hostility scores, except for extrapunitiveness, decreased significantly over time, larger changes occurring in the first half of treatment.(3) Comparisons with British scores showed that during illness there were no significant differences between British and Greeks, though the latter tended to be more extrapunitive. At recovery, the Greeks were significantly more extrapunitive.The movement of hostility in depressive illness, the validity of the HDHQ and need for national norms are discussed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominika Dudek ◽  
Andrzej Zieba ◽  
Miroslawa Jawor ◽  
Maria Szymaczek ◽  
Janusz Opila ◽  
...  

This study examines the impact of major depressive illness on spouses of depressed patients. The aim of the study was to attempt to conceptualize the gender differences in the manner in which spouses experience their partnera’s disorder. Forty-eight spouses of depressed patients (22 females and 26 males) and 48 married couples with no mental health diagnosis were selected to participate in this study. The occurrence of depressive symptoms was assessed through the use of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Thinking styles were assessed using the Rosenberg Scale (RS), Hopelessness Scale (HS), and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ). Perception of the marital relationships was evaluated with the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) Results indicate more depressive symptomatology and distorted thinking patterns with the female spouses of depressed patients. The perceived quality of marital relationships by female spouses was rated to be poorer than that of male counterparts and controls. The results suggest that there exist clear differences in thinking style and perception of marital relationships between female and male spouses who are married to depressed partners.


1981 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. W. Johnson

SummaryDepression assessed by clinical examination and Hamilton rating scale was found in half of 37 untreated new acute schizophrenics, and in about a third of chronic schizophrenics who relapsed whether treated with depot injections (89) or not (79). A significant part of depressive illness in schizophrenics is thus not drug-related. However, depression was commoner in those on higher doses of depot neuroleptic (P <.05) or who showed extrapyramidal side effects (P <.001), suggesting that drugs can play a part. Patients maintained in remission on moderate doses of depot drug had the lowest prevalence of depression.


1965 ◽  
Vol 111 (472) ◽  
pp. 240-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryse Metcalfe ◽  
Ellen Goldman

The assessment and measurement of the mental state in patients suffering from a depressive illness is important both in clinical psychiatry and in research. Clinical assessment by an experienced psychiatrist, even when it is quantified on the basis of a rating scale (e.g. Hamilton's Rating Scale for Depression) has the disadvantage of being dependent on the skill of the rater and on his clinical bias. These drawbacks make it somewhat difficult to compare meaningfully results obtained in different investigations.


1973 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 624-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Peet

Twenty-four in-patients with depressive illness were treated with either ICI 58,834 or imipramine for twenty-one days in a single-blind controlled trial. No statistically significant difference in response was found between the two groups, as assessed by the Hamilton Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. Blood levels of ICI 58,834 at one hour were not correlated with clinical response. Nausea and vomiting occurred in three patients taking ICI 58,834. It is concluded that further investigation of the apparent antidepressant activity of this new drug is indicated.


1976 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham D. Burrows ◽  
George Foenander ◽  
Brian Davies ◽  
Bruce A. Scoggins

Fifty-three patients suffering from depressive illness were classified as ‘responders’ or ‘non-responders’ on the basis of an “amelioration score” of the Hamilton Rating Scale for depression after six weeks treatment with nortriptyline hydrochloride at 150 mgs. daily. A multivariate analysis of variance was performed on the four psychological rating scale scores used, to determine whether rating scales could predict treatment response to tricyclic antidepressants. There was a significant difference between the two groups after adjustment for age. Subjects were then classified as ‘non-responders’ and ‘responders’ on the basis of their discriminant scores. The prediction of response to tricyclic antidepressants was found to be at 75% probability.


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