Depression drug shows promise for cognition

Nursing Homes, May, 2005 by Douglas J. Edwards

A recently released antidepressant has shown promising results in improving cognition in elderly patients with depression. Research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry in March found that elderly patients with depression treated with Lilly's Cymbalta[R] (duloxetine hydrochloride), 60 mg once daily, had twice as much improvement in verbal learning and recalling information than those given a sugar pill. By the end of the eight-week study, patients treated with Cymbalta demonstrated significantly greater improvement in cognition when compared with patients receiving sugar pills. In addition, 27.4% of Cymbalta-treated patients were virtually free of their depressive symptoms, a rate nearly double that seen with a sugar pill (14.7%). Significant improvements in depressive symptoms in Cymbalta-treated patients were seen as early as one week.

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Cymbalta is indicated for the treatment of major depression and the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain. For more information, visit www.cymbalta.com.