Primary Outcome Measures:
- MADRS (Montgomery Asberg's Depression Rating Scale)
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- HAM-D(Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression ) 17-item
- BDI (Beck Depression Inventory)
- HAM-A (Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety)
- Clinical Global Impression Scale and Severity and Improvement.
Major depression is a severe disorder with serious consequences. Effective treatments are available; however, in clinical trials 30-40% of patients do not experience even a 50% reduction in depression severity scores, while 50-70% fail to achieve a full therapeutic response. Futhermore, impairment from the disorder continues essentially unabated in patients who are treated but do not fully remit. If anything, the situation is at least as bad or not worse in clinical practice. Clearly, alternatives are needed to manage this common clinical condition.
The addition of bupropion ER (extended release) to an SSRI has empirical support, and has become the most common augmentation strategy in the US. A comparative trial of the combination of risperidone or bupropion ER added to an SSRI in treatment resistant deperssion could help support risperidone for this condition; such a trial seems warranted at this time.
Patients who are currently on a SSRI at an adequate dosage for at least 3 weeks with no response, will be randomly assigned (open-label) to either risperidone or bupropion ER augmentation for a period of 6 weeks. Patients will be followed weekly at the beginning and bi-weekly towards the end of the trial to compare the response of each group.