{"id":11480,"date":"2011-07-13T09:43:52","date_gmt":"2011-07-13T13:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/?p=11480"},"modified":"2011-07-13T11:44:21","modified_gmt":"2011-07-13T15:44:21","slug":"go-pogo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1boringoldman.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/13\/go-pogo\/","title":{"rendered":"go pogo…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
It’s an absurd paper, long forgotten – just another one of those CV fillers that were so common ten years ago in the psychiatric literature, and it’s authored by the now infamous Dr. Nemeroff when he was the "boss of bosses." In the scope of things – meaningless drivel… <\/div>\n
\n
Double-blind, placebo-controlled comparison of imipramine and paroxetine in the treatment of bipolar depression<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a>
by Nemeroff CB, Evans DL, Gyulai L, Sachs GS, Bowden CL, Gergel IP, Oakes R, and Pitts CD.<\/sup>
American Journal of Psychiatry<\/font><\/strong>. 2001 158(6):906-12.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Abstract
OBJECTIVE<\/u>: This study compared the efficacy and safety of paroxetine and imipramine with that of placebo in the treatment of bipolar depression in adult outpatients stabilized on a regimen of lithium.
METHOD<\/u>: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 117 outpatients with DSM-III-R bipolar disorder, depressive phase, were randomly assigned to treatment with paroxetine (N=35), imipramine (N=39), or placebo (N=43) for 10 weeks. In addition to lithium monotherapy, patients may have received either carbamazepine or valproate in combination with lithium for control of manic symptoms. Patients were stratified on the basis of trough serum lithium levels determined at the screening visit (high: >0.8 meq\/liter; low: <=0.8 meq\/liter). Primary efficacy was assessed by change from baseline in scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the Clinical Global Impression illness severity scale.
RESULTS<\/u>: Differences in overall efficacy among the three groups were not statistically significant. For patients with high serum lithium levels, antidepressant response at endpoint also did not significantly differ from placebo. However, both paroxetine and imipramine were superior to placebo for patients with low serum lithium levels. Compared to imipramine, paroxetine resulted in a lower incidence of adverse events, most notably emergence of manic symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS<\/u>: Antidepressants may not be useful adjunctive therapy for bipolar depressed patients with high serum lithium levels. However, antidepressant therapy may be beneficial for patients who cannot tolerate high serum lithium levels or who have symptoms that are refractory to the antidepressant effects of lithium.<\/sup><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Last night, when I read Paul Thacker’s article in POGO<\/font><\/strong><\/u><\/a> that began…<\/div>\n