Combined treatment with escitalopram and memantine increases gray matter volume and cortical thickness compared to escitalopram and placebo in a pilot study of geriatric depression.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Geriatric depression with subjective cognitive complaints increases the risk of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Memantine is a cognitive enhancer used to treat AD. In a 6-month double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial of escitalopram and memantine (ESC/MEM), ESC/MEM improved cognition at 12 month in geriatric depression (NCT01902004). We now investigated structural neuroplastic changes at 3 months.

Methods

Forty-one older depressed adults (mean age=70.43, SD=7.33, 26 female) were randomized to receive ESC/MEM or ESC/PBO. Mood scores (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, HAMD) and high-resolution structural T1-weighted images were acquired at baseline and 3 months. Freesurfer 6.0 for image processing and General Linear Models was used to examine group differences in

SUBMITTER: Krause-Sorio B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7368564 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature