Depression in the medically ill elderly:
a focus on methylphenidate
by
Emptage RE, Semla TP
Department of Pharmacy Practice,
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
Ann Pharmacother 1996 Feb; 30(2):151-7
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To describe depression in the medically ill elderly and discuss
methylphenidate as a treatment option. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search from 1986
to 1995 was done to identify the literature published on depression in the
medically ill as well as the literature on the use of methylphenidate for
depression in the medically ill elderly. The references of articles found were
evaluated for other relevant articles. STUDY SELECTION: Retrospective and
prospective studies that evaluated the use of methylphenidate in depressed,
medically ill elderly were reviewed. DATA EXTRACTION: Information on depression
in the medically ill elderly was abstracted from original and review articles on
the subject. The information pertaining to methylphenidate came from clinical
studies. CONCLUSIONS: Depression in the medically ill elderly occurs frequently
and is underdetected in part because of the difficulty in diagnosing depression
in this population. Methylphenidate has been found to be a safe and effective
treatment of depression in the medically ill elderly. A potential advantage of
methylphenidate over other antidepressants is its relatively quick onset of
action, usually within 2-5 days. Older patients whose depressive symptoms are
interfering with their functional capabilities or participation in prescribed
therapies to improve or restore function after a medical illness should be
considered for a trial of methylphenidate.
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