An Open-Label Trial of Riluzole in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Major Depression

• Published in: The American journal of psychiatry Vol. 161; no. 1; pp. 171 - 174
• Main Authors: Zarate, Carlos A., Payne, Jennifer L., Quiroz, Jorge, Sporn, Jonathan, Denicoff, Kirk K., Luckenbaugh, David, Charney, Dennis S., Manji, Husseini K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychiatric Publishing 01.01.2004; American Psychiatric Association
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Anticonvulsants - administration & dosage; Anticonvulsants - therapeutic use; Antidepressants; Biological and medical sciences; Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy; Drug Resistance; Drug therapy; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Recurrence; Riluzole - administration & dosage; Riluzole - therapeutic use; Severity of Illness Index; Surveys and Questionnaires; Mood disorder; Human; Treatment resistance; Psychotropic; Toxicity; Benzothiazole; Treatment efficiency; Depression; Recurrent; Riluzole; Dose activity relation; Symptomatology; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Follow up study; Antidepressant agent; Evolution; Severity score; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0002-953X; 1535-7228
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.161.1.171

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of riluzole, a glutamate-modulating agent, in patients with recurrent major depression. METHOD: After a 1-week drug-free period, subjects 18 years or older with a diagnosis of recurrent major depression and a Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale score ≥20 received riluzole monotherapy (100-200 mg day) openly for 6 weeks. RESULTS: Nineteen treatment-resistant depressed patients, 53% of whom were classified as having stage 2 treatment resistance or greater, received riluzole at a mean dose of 169 mg day. Significant improvement occurred during weeks 3 through 6 for all patients and weeks 2 through 6 for completers. CONCLUSIONS: Although preliminary, these results indicate that riluzole may have antidepressant properties in some patients.