For older adults with depression who have not experienced significant symptom improvements while taking antidepressants, adding aripiprazole to their existing medication regimen may offer the best chance of improving mood while limiting key side effects. These findings were based on a clinical study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“From the outset, we designed this trial based on stakeholder input,” senior study author Jordan Karp, M.D., a professor and chair of psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, told Psychiatric News. Before selecting medications and outcomes for the trial, Karp explained that the researchers surveyed psychiatrists and patients. Based on this feedback, they decided to focus the primary treatment outcome on the participants’ psychological well-being—for example, feelings of happiness, cognitive engagement, and life satisfaction. The primary safety outcomes were falls.
Read the full article here and learn the outcomes of this study.