Baseline mood-state measures as predictors of antidepressant response to scopolamine

Furey ML et al. – The results indicate that self–report mood–ratings obtained before treatment can predict response outcome to scopolamine, and suggest that a constellation of mood–state features may be related to clinical response.

Methods

• Fifty-one unipolar and bipolar patients participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial.
• Following a single-blind placebo session, participants randomly received P/S or S/P (P=3 placebo; S=3 scopolamine (4 μg/kg) sessions).
• Mood-state self-ratings (Profile of Mood State (POMS) and Visual Analog Scales (VAS)) and depression severity (Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)) were obtained before each infusion.
• Day 1 (baseline/placebo) self-ratings were used in a discriminant function analysis to identify linear combinations of individual items that predict response.

Results

• The discriminant analysis significantly separated responders from non-responders in both the unipolar and bipolar diagnostic subgroups.
• The discriminant functions accurately classified over 85% of patients as responders/non-responders.
• The POMS depression subscale significantly correlated with clinical response, as did the VAS restlessness, sad, and irritated scales.

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