New research to examine effectiveness of antidepressants for depression in dementia

News release from the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment

12 September 2006

New research funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme will evaluate the effectiveness of antidepressant medication for the treatment of depression in people with dementia. It is hoped that the study will provide a solid evidence-base to help clinicians make informed decisions about practice, clarifying an area of great uncertainty.

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of depression in dementia. This distressing condition, which affects up to 20% of the 700,000 people suffering with dementia in England and Wales, reduces the quality of life for patients and leads to an increased burden upon carers, and referral to specialist mental health services leading to increased NHS costs. Research evidence about the best treatments for depression in such patients has been found to be weak, with little convincing evidence that treatments are more effective than placebo.

The new research, led by Professor Sube Banerjee of the Institute of Psychiatry , involves a randomised controlled trial in which more than 500 patients will receive either sertraline or mirtazipine (examples of the two types of antidepressants most in use) or a placebo, to investigate the clinical and cost effectiveness of the different treatments. They will be followed up at three and nine months to see if the treatments have helped with their depression.

“Depression in dementia is an important clinical problem that clinicians manage without the benefit of definitive evidence of the efficacy of antidepressant drugs,” says lead researcher Professor Sube Banerjee. “It is important to establish whether antidepressants are an effective treatment, as the drugs have potential side effects and may in fact offer no benefit for patients. Equally few people with depression in dementia receive anything in the way of active treatment and if the drugs work then they are being denied effective treatment for a profoundly distressing condition. This study will provide solid evidence to help clinicians make informed decisions about practice.”

Notes:

  1. HTA study of antidepressants for depression in dementia - a definitive multicentre pragmatic randomised controlled trial of clinical and cost effectiveness (HTA-SADD) is due to be published in the Health Technology Assessment journal series in 2009. To register for email alerts visit http://www.hta.ac.uk/project.asp?PjtId=1508  
     

Notes for editors


  1. The HTA programme is a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 400 issues published to date. The journal’s 2007 Impact Factor (3.87) ranked it in the top 10% of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk The HTA programme is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), based at the University of Southampton.
  2. The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility.  The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training.  Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk

Contact details

Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: ns5@soton.ac.uk

Helen Nikandrou, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 584, Email: h.nikandrou@soton.ac.uk

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