Memory Functioning and Antidepressant Treatment
Condition: Depression; Major Depressive Disorder
MeSH terms: Depression; Depressive Disorder; Depressive Disorder, Major
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 3

Summary: 
      Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a serious illness associated with considerable morbidity,
      risk of suicide and adverse social consequences (Montgomery et al., 1994a). Cognitive
      impairment is one of the three major symptom areas of MDD. Specifically, memory impairment
      and concerns are one of the most commonly reported complaints in MDD. While antidepressant
      (AD) treatments vary a great deal in their propensity to cause cognitive impairment, there
      remains a paucity of empirical evidence on the effects of AD treatment on neuropsychological
      indices of memory functioning in non-geriatric depressed individuals. Hence, comparative
      effects of various AD drugs on memory functioning remain unclear.The aim of this study is to
      evaluate multiple aspects of memory functioning (short-term, working memory, verbal,
      non-verbal, spatial and prospective memory) of MDD patients before and after 8 weeks of
      antidepressant treatment with bupropion XL or escitalopram.
    

Detailed description: 
      Purpose of the Present Study:

      The purpose of the present study is to comprehensively evaluate memory functioning of MDD
      patients before and after 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment with bupropion-XL or
      escitalopram. A neuropsychological test battery will incorporate multiple aspects of memory
      functioning including: short-term & working memory; verbal, non-verbal, spatial and
      prospective memory.

      Major Research Questions:

        1. Which subtypes of memory at baseline are more impaired?

        2. What is the relationship between memory impairment and symptom severity and previous
           number of episodes or duration of illness?

        3. Is successful AD treatment associated with improvement in memory functioning?

        4. Is there a main effect by AD type?

        5. On which subtypes of memory do patients improve, worsen, or remain neutral in the 2
           different AD groups? (Main effect of memory type?)

        6. What is the relationship between change in memory function and symptomatic outcome?

      Study Design:

      This is a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy trial comparing the memory functioning of
      depressed subjects before and after 8 weeks of treatment with bupropion-XL as compared to
      escitalopram.

      All consenting, eligible subjects will receive either active bupropion-XL or active
      escitalopram following the baseline visit. Doses will be fixed with an opportunity for dose
      reduction if subjects are unable to tolerate fixed dose.
    

Intervention name(s): Escitalopram; Bupropion XL
Intervention type(s): Drug; Drug
Intervention MeSH terms: Bupropion; Escitalopram
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Major Depression; Antidepressant; Pharmacotherapy; Memory functioning; Memory Impairment