Conditions: Depressive Disorder, Major
Keywords: Major Depression Depression Unipolar Depression Treatment Resistant Depression Adjunctive treatment
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 15
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This is a study of the effectiveness of adding Abilify (aripiprazole), an atypical antipsychotic medication, to ongoing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant treatment for depressed outpatients who are not responding fully to SSRI treatment alone. It is hypothesized that patients' functioning will improve after 12 weeks of treatment with Aripiprazole and SSRI medication.

Detailed description:
This is a pilot study of the effectiveness of adding Abilify (aripiprazole), an atypical antipsychotic medication, to ongoing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant treatment for depressed outpatients who are not responding fully to SSRI treatment alone. Fifteen subjects will be given aripiprazole in a flexible dosing schedule and followed for 12 weeks, while continuing their ongoing SSRI medication. Assessments of depressive symptoms, overall functioning, social functioning, and side effects will be completed. It is hypothesized that patients' functioning will improve after 12 weeks of treatment with Aripiprazole and SSRI medication.

Arms:
arm 1: Aripiprazole 5 to 30 mg/day

Interventions: intervention 1: Aripiprazole
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Aripiprazole dose ranging from 5 to 30 mg/day, augmenting antidepressant treatment. Aripiprazole is used as an augmenting medication on an open label basis for patients on antidepressant medication who continue to have depressive symptoms. This is an open label case series in which all subjects receive aripiprazole augmentation. There is no comparator group.

Protocol document: