Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder
Keywords: platelet function childhood abuse depression antidepressants immune function stress response
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 40
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
Men and women who have suffered sexual and/or physical abuse before the age of 12 are at increased risk for anxiety and mood disorders, other serious psychiatric disorders, and likely medical illnesses. What is not known is whether adult survivors of childhood adversity experience heightened negative emotions and increased physical responses due to altered norepinephrine or serotonin systems in their brains and bodies. The investigators expect to see that survivors of childhood adversity experience heightened negative emotions and increased physical responses to stress.

Detailed description:

Arms:
arm 1: None arm 2: None

Interventions: intervention 1: Escitalopram intervention 2: Desipramine
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: 10 mg of Escitalopram, and titrated up to 20 mg of Escitalopram after day 22 of intervention intervention 2: 25 mg of Desipramine for day 1-3, 50 mg of Desipramine for day 4-7, 75 mg of Desipramine for day 8-14, 100 mg of Desipramine for day 15-21. Titrated between 125 mg to 200 mg of Desipramine for day 22-56 of intervention

Protocol document: