Thyroid Medication and Antidepressants for Treating Major Depression

November 16, 2015 updated by: Boadie W. Dunlop, Emory University

Thyroid Axis in Major Depression

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of treatment with supplemental triiodothyronine (T3, Cytomel) and sertraline (Zoloft), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), in improving symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The primary hypothesis is that triiodothyronine (Cytomel) supplementation of the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft) will result in a greater improvement in HAM-D scores compared to placebo in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

The goals of this proposal are to examine the relationship between Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and abnormalities of the hypothalamic pituitary thyroid (HPT) axis. This protocol will systematically examine the value of supplemental triiodothyronine (T3, Cytomel) with sertraline (Zoloft), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) in the treatment of MDD. The focus will be on two overlapping populations: 1) those with evidence of HPT abnormalities, and 2) those who did not respond to a previous adequate SSRI trial

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

153

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30329
        • Emory University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years to 58 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male or female between the ages of 18 and 60. (The upper age is limited to 60 because thyroid changes, including blunting of the TSH response to TRH occurs with age and can potentially confound the relationship between the HPT axis and MDD.)
  • Primary diagnosis of unipolar Major Depressive Disorder
  • HAM-D (21 item) score >18

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence within the past year.
  • Psychoactive substance abuse or dependence within the past year.
  • Clinical evidence of severe Personality Disorder that would make study participation and completion unlikely.
  • ECT within the past 6 months.
  • Grade I hypothyroidism defined as low thyroid hormone levels with an associated elevated TSH; hyperthyroidism defined as elevated thyroid hormone concentrations with a low TSH.
  • Serious and unstable medical illnesses.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: sertraline + triiodothyronine
Drug: Sertraline
Other Names:
  • Zoloft
Drug: Triiodothyronine
Other Names:
  • Cytomel
Placebo Comparator: sertraline + placebo
Other: Placebo
Drug: Sertraline
Other Names:
  • Zoloft

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
MADRS score

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
CGI

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Emory University

Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Boadie W Dunlop, MD, MS, Emory University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 1996

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2003

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2003

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 13, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 13, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 21, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 17, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 16, 2015

Last Verified

November 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 0431-1996
  • DSIR AT-SO (NorthShore LIJ Health System)
  • R01MH056946 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • 431-1996

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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