Psychotic Depression Symptoms. RU-486 For Depression ?
Q: Sufferers of
psychotic major depression, a severe and debilitating form of mental
illness, improve slowly or not at all with standard medication. But
researchers at Stanford University Medical Center have used the drug
mifepristone, also known as RU-486, to treat these patients quickly
and effectively.
A:The treatment is potentially controversial because mifepristone is
widely known as a drug that induces abortions. Researchers have
learned, however, that certain properties of the drug that lead to
pregnancy termination can also help treat psychotic major depression.
About 15 percent of patients suffering from major depression
experience psychotic symptoms such as paranoia and hallucinations.
Antidepressant medications alone are usually ineffective for these
patients, and combining antidepressants with antipsychotic drugs
improve symptoms for only about 60 percent of them. Electroconvulsive
therapy works in roughly 80 percent of patients who try it, DeBattista
said, but many decline the treatment because of its stigma. In
addition, patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy or drug
combinations may not see results for weeks or even months after
starting treatment.
30 patients received either a low, medium or high dose
of mifepristone, each day for a week in addition to their standard
medications. More than two-thirds of patients in the medium- and
high-dose groups showed significant reductions in psychotic symptoms
within seven days. During the week, more than 40 percent of the
patients in these groups saw their symptoms of depression reduced by
half or better, based on standard clinical measures for the disease
High levels of the steroidal