Cholesterol concentrations and clinical response to sertraline in patients with epilepsy: preliminary results. Epilepsy Behav 2010 Nov;19(3):509-12
Date
10/05/2010Pubmed ID
20888305DOI
10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.06.045Scopus ID
2-s2.0-78649904014 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 6 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Low cholesterol levels are associated with depression and suicide in persons with epilepsy. The goal of this study was to determine whether plasma cholesterol concentration is a predictor of response to sertraline.
METHODS: We carried out a prospective open-label study on the efficacy of sertraline as therapy in the treatment of depressive disorder in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Patients were treated for 24 weeks at dose levels between 50 and 100mg/day. All patients were evaluated at the beginning of the investigation and 6 months later by two psychiatrists using a structured interview.
RESULTS: The mean total cholesterol concentration of nonresponding patients was lower than the mean (SD) cholesterol level of responders [3.2 (0.9) mmol/L vs 5.2 (1.5) mmol/L]; this difference reached statistical significance (P = 0.0000). We found a negative correlation between scores on the Hamilton scale and cholesterol concentrations (r = -33).
CONCLUSION: The response to sertraline may depend on the baseline cholesterol concentration.
Author List
Machado RA, Espinosa AG, Montoto APAuthor
Rene Andrade-Machado MD, PhD Assistant Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultCholesterol
Depressive Disorder
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Middle Aged
Sertraline
Suicide, Attempted
