The self-reported Montgomery-Asberg depression rating scale is a useful evaluative tool in major depressive disorder
by
Fantino B, Moore N.
Department of Psychiatry,
Medical College of Virginia,
P.O. Box 980126,
Richmond, VA 23298-0126.
kendler@hsc.vcu.edu.
BMC Psychiatry. 2009 May 27;9(1):26.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The use of Patient-reported Outcomes (PROs) as secondary endpoints in the development of new antidepressants has grown in recent years. The objective of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the 9-item, patient-administered version of the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S). METHODS: Data from a multicentre, double-blind, 8-week, randomised controlled trial of 278 outpatients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder were used to evaluate the validity, reliability and sensitivity to change of the MADRS-S using psychometric methods. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to identify the most appropriate threshold to define perceived remission. RESULTS: No missing values were found at the item level, indicating good acceptability of the scale. The construct validity was satisfactory: all items contributed to a common underlying concept, as expected. The correlation between MADRS-S and physicians' MADRS was moderate (r = 0.54, p<0.001) indicating that MADRS-S is complementary rather than redundant to the MADRS. Cronbach's alpha was 0.84, and the stability over time of the scale, estimated on a sub-sample of patients whose health status did not change during the first week of the study, was good (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.78). MADRS-S sensitivity to change was shown. Using a threshold value of 5, the definition of "perceived remission" reached a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 75%. CONCLUSIONS: Taking account of patient's perceptions of the severity of their own symptoms along with the psychometric properties of the MADRS-S enable its use for evaluative purposes in the development of new antidepressant drugs.

TCAs
SSRIs
RIMAs
Options
Bupropion
Amineptine
Reboxetine
Nefazodone
Mirtazapine
Venlafaxine
21st Century
Pharmacogenetics
Atypical depression
Retarded depression
Future antidepressants
Antidepressant medication
Basic fibroblast growth factor
Neurogenesis and depression

Refs
and further reading

HOME
HedWeb
Nootropics
cocaine.wiki
Future Opioids
BLTC Research
MDMA/Ecstasy
Superhapiness?
Utopian Surgery?
The Abolitionist Project
The Hedonistic Imperative
The Reproductive Revolution
Critique of Huxley's Brave New World

The Good Drug Guide
The Responsible Parent's Guide
To Healthy Mood Boosters For All The Family