Platelet/endothelial biomarkers in depressed patients treated with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline after acute coronary events: the Sertraline AntiDepressant Heart Attack Randomized Trial (SADHART) Platelet Substudy.

Background: Depression after acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) has been identified as an independent risk factor for subsequent cardiac death. Enhanced platelet activation has been hypothesized to represent 1 of the mechanisms underlying this association. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are known to inhibit platelet activity.

Chronic depression and comorbid personality disorders: response to sertraline versus imipramine.

Background: Chronic subtypes of depression appear to be associated with high rates of Axis II personality disorder comorbidity. Few studies, though, have systematically examined the clinical correlates of Axis II personality disorder comorbidity or its effect on treatment response or time to response.

Method: 635 patients diagnosed with DSM-III-R chronic major depression or "double depression" (dysthymia with concurrent major depression) were randomized to 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with either sertraline or imipramine between February 1993 and December 1994.

Sertraline treatment of major depression in patients with acute MI or unstable angina.

Context: Major depressive disorder (MDD) occurs in 15% to 23% of patients with acute coronary syndromes and constitutes an independent risk factor for morbidity and mortality. However, no published evidence exists that antidepressant drugs are safe or efficacious in patients with unstable ischemic heart disease.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of sertraline treatment of MDD in patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction (MI) or unstable angina and free of other life-threatening medical conditions.

Psychosocial outcomes following long-term, double-blind treatment of chronic depression with sertraline vs placebo.

Background: Chronic forms of depression are associated with significant functional and psychosocial impairments. To date, no study has measured psychosocial functioning in this population during long-term maintenance antidepressant treatment or following the double-blind discontinuation of treatment.

Methods: Patients with chronic major or double depression completed 12 weeks of short-term treatment followed by 16 weeks of continuation treatment with sertraline hydrochloride.

Double-blind switch study of imipramine or sertraline treatment of antidepressant-resistant chronic depression.

Background: Although various strategies have been proposed to treat antidepressant nonresponders, little controlled research has been published that examines prospectively the use of switching to an alternate antidepressant.

Methods: This was a multisite study in which outpatients with chronic major depression (with or without concurrent dysthymia), who failed to respond to 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with either sertraline hydrochloride (n = 117) or imipramine hydrochloride (n = 51), were crossed over or switched to 12 additional weeks of double-blind treatment with the alternate medication. Outcome measures included the 24-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the Clinical Global Impressions--Severity and Improvement scales.