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Treatment Of Resistant Depression In Adolescents, TORDIA, a nation-wide
research study sponsored by the
National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), is designed to examine
different methods of caring for adolescents with treatment-resistant
depression with the hope of learning which method works best.
Most teenagers with depression are successfully treated with
anti-depressant medication, by participating in psychotherapy, or both.
The most commonly used anti-depressant medications called Selective
Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), these include Prozac, Celexa,
Lexapro, Zoloft, and Luvox. All SSRIs have been approved by the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of depression in adults.
However, only Prozac has been FDA approved for treating depression in
adolescents. The goal of using anti-depressants is to decrease a teen's
depressive symptoms, improve his/her overall functioning and increase
his/her quality of life. We know that these medications specifically,
have a high likelihood of reducing; sad mood, irritability, low energy,
sleep problems, lack of motivation/inability to enjoy things,
concentration and memory problems, nervousness, worry and worry
thoughts, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
However, similar to adults, these treatments work only 60 percent of the
time for teens. In this situation, mental health professionals have a
number of options. Some of the most common include switching to another
SSRI antidepressant medication, switching to another type of
antidepressant medication different from SSRIs (such as Effexor XR) or
choosing one of these options and also providing talk therapy.
Unfortunately, no research studies were being conducted, until the
TORDIA Study, to tell mental health professionals which option had the
best chance of working.
"This research study will give us a better understanding of
treatment-resistant depression and a better handle on the most effective
ways to treat it," said David Brent, M.D., principal investigator of the
TORDIA Study Pittsburgh site, Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and
Epidemiology; Academic Chief; & Endowed Chair in Suicide Studies at
Western Psychiatric Institute and
Clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "By testing commonly used
treatment combinations, we hope to establish which is the best at making
patients get well and stay well."
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