Volunteers needed to move ahead in quest for treatment resistant depression research

Researchers at the University of Bristol are looking for some volunteers for finding out if hydrocortisone, a drug affecting stress system of the body, can be used to provide relief to people suffering from depression and not responding to present treatments.

Severe or recurrent depression affects 3-5 percent of the population and 10-30 percent of this population falls under the category of patients who do not provide a respond to the available treatment options.

From News-Medical.Net:

Evidence from UK and US studies suggests that a short course of steroids, such as hydrocortisone, may be sufficient to trigger a beneficial response in people who have TRD who are on ’standard’ antidepressant treatment.  If this were to be confirmed, it would be a significant advance as it may enable a restoration of response to conventional treatments in these individuals.  A further advantage is that such an intervention is inexpensive, relatively simple and could be carried out in outpatient or even appropriate primary care settings.

The researchers are looking for patients with depression who have failed to respond to two antidepressant medications and who would like to be assessed for entry into the study.

Dr Andrea Malizia leading the team of Bristol researchers has a long-standing clinical and research interest in treatment resistant depression and spearheads a specialist outpatient service at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.

Tags: depression, hydrocortisone, Steroids

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