Study Concludes Two Antidepressants Given to Alzheimer’s Patients Are Ineffective

Excerpt from Kraft Elder Law: (click for entire article)

Reuters reported that the antidepressants Zoloft (sertraline) and Remeron (mirtazapine) often prescribed to treat depression in Alzheimer’s patients appear to be ineffective, according to a study published online in The Lancet.

HealthDay reported that for the study, Sube Banerjee of the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London in England, and colleagues, “focused on 325 patients being treated at any of nine health centers across England for probable or possible Alzheimer’s disease.” The subjects “were divided into three 13-week treatment groups. One group received 150 milligrams (mg) a day of sertraline; a second group received 45 mg a day of mirtazapine; and a third took sugar pills (placebos).” After three months, the authors “found no difference in the incidence of depression among the three groups.”