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Abilify as an Adjunctive Treatment for Refractory Depression

Abilify (Aripiprazole) as an Adjunctive Treatment for Refractory Unipolar Depression

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00220636
Enrollment
15
Registered
2005-09-22
Start date
2005-03-31
Completion date
2008-01-31
Last updated
2016-05-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Depressive Disorder, Major

Keywords

Major Depression, Depression, Unipolar Depression, Treatment Resistant Depression, Adjunctive treatment

Brief summary

This is a study of the effectiveness of adding Abilify (aripiprazole), an atypical antipsychotic medication, to ongoing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant treatment for depressed outpatients who are not responding fully to SSRI treatment alone. It is hypothesized that patients' functioning will improve after 12 weeks of treatment with Aripiprazole and SSRI medication.

Detailed description

This is a pilot study of the effectiveness of adding Abilify (aripiprazole), an atypical antipsychotic medication, to ongoing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant treatment for depressed outpatients who are not responding fully to SSRI treatment alone. Fifteen subjects will be given aripiprazole in a flexible dosing schedule and followed for 12 weeks, while continuing their ongoing SSRI medication. Assessments of depressive symptoms, overall functioning, social functioning, and side effects will be completed. It is hypothesized that patients' functioning will improve after 12 weeks of treatment with Aripiprazole and SSRI medication.

Interventions

DRUGAripiprazole

Aripiprazole dose ranging from 5 to 30 mg/day, augmenting antidepressant treatment. Aripiprazole is used as an augmenting medication on an open label basis for patients on antidepressant medication who continue to have depressive symptoms. This is an open label case series in which all subjects receive aripiprazole augmentation. There is no comparator group.

Sponsors

Bristol-Myers Squibb
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Male and female outpatients between the ages of 18 and 70. * Patients with a principal Diagnostic and Statistical Manual fourth edition (DSM-IV) diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, unipolar, nonpsychotic type * Patients with a total of 14 or higher on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale at baseline * Patients who have had treatment with an SSRI at an adequate dose (see Table for a minimum of 6 weeks (i.e. 6 wks at the dose defined as adequate in Table 2) * Patients who agree to use acceptable method of birth control throughout the study

Exclusion criteria

* Patients with any of the following DSM-IV diagnoses: Delirium, Dementia, Amnestic, or other Cognitive Disorders. Bipolar Disorder or cyclothymia, Schizophrenia, Delusional (Paranoid) Disorders and Psychotic Disorders not elsewhere classified, Severe Borderline Personality Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, or Bulimia. * Patients who, within the past 6 months, met DSM-IV criteria for abuse of or dependence on any drug, including alcohol. * Patients who are pregnant or nursing women. * Patients who would pose a serious risk for suicide during the course of the study, as evidenced by one of the following: (a) report of having a specific plan for killing themselves, (b) a score of 3 or higher on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale item #3 as rated by the treating clinician at Week 0, or (c) a suicide attempt within the last 6 months which required medical attention, such as an emergency room visit or which is considered by the treating physician to have been possibly life threatening * Patients with unstable medical conditions such as untreated or uncontrolled hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, hypertension (defined as blood pressure\>150/90), cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV (by report of patient). * Patients with a history of seizures.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS)12 weeksClinician rated measure of depression, mean score; this study used the 24 item version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; item scores range from 0 to 4 on some items, 0 to 2 or 0 to 3 on other items; range of total score = 0 to 75, with higher score indicating worse depression Response (\>50% decrease) Remission (score\<=7) Outcome is the number of these subjects whose depression responded after treatment with aripiprazole, which means a 50% or greater decrease in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores at week 12.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Clinical Global Impressions Improvement Scale (CGI)12 weeksclinician rated improvement, score on CGI scale ranging from 1 (very much improved) to 7 (very much worse)
Change in Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAFS)baseline and 12 weeksRanging from 0 to 100, with higher score indicating better global functioning. Outcome is the post-treatment GAFS score compared to the pre-treatment GAFS score.
Change in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) Scorebaseline and 12 weeks21 item patient rated assessment of depression symptoms, with item scores ranging from 0 to 3. Total BDI scores can range from 0 to 63, with higher scores indicating worse depression. Outcome is the subject's total BDI score post-treatment compared to the subject's total BDI score pre-treatment.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Aripiprazole
aripiprazole augmentation treatment
15
Total15

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000
Overall StudyWithdrawal by Subject4

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicAripiprazole
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
1 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
14 Participants
Age, Continuous46 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 13
Region of Enrollment
United States
15 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
10 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
5 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
8 / 15
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 15

Outcome results

Primary

Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS)

Clinician rated measure of depression, mean score; this study used the 24 item version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; item scores range from 0 to 4 on some items, 0 to 2 or 0 to 3 on other items; range of total score = 0 to 75, with higher score indicating worse depression Response (\>50% decrease) Remission (score\<=7) Outcome is the number of these subjects whose depression responded after treatment with aripiprazole, which means a 50% or greater decrease in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores at week 12.

Time frame: 12 weeks

Population: Adults with treatment resistant depression, all subjects with data after baseline (14 of 15 subjects).

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
AripiprazoleHamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS)7 participants
Comparison: Null hypothesis would be no change in the HDRS score pre- to post- treatment with aripiprazole.p-value: <0.001t-test, 2 sided
Secondary

Change in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) Score

21 item patient rated assessment of depression symptoms, with item scores ranging from 0 to 3. Total BDI scores can range from 0 to 63, with higher scores indicating worse depression. Outcome is the subject's total BDI score post-treatment compared to the subject's total BDI score pre-treatment.

Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks

Population: Number of participants for whom data was available after starting aripiprazole augmentation

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
AripiprazoleChange in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) Score4.2 points on BDI scaleStandard Deviation 10
Comparison: Null hypothesis would be no change in the BDI score pre- to post- treatment with aripiprazole.p-value: 0.008t-test, 2 sided
Secondary

Change in Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAFS)

Ranging from 0 to 100, with higher score indicating better global functioning. Outcome is the post-treatment GAFS score compared to the pre-treatment GAFS score.

Time frame: baseline and 12 weeks

Population: All subjects (14/15) for whom data was available after starting aripiprazole augmentation

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
AripiprazoleChange in Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAFS)7.3 points on GAFS scaleStandard Deviation 4.7
Comparison: Null hypothesis would be no change in the GAFS score pre- to post- treatment with aripiprazole.p-value: 0.009t-test, 2 sided
Secondary

Clinical Global Impressions Improvement Scale (CGI)

clinician rated improvement, score on CGI scale ranging from 1 (very much improved) to 7 (very much worse)

Time frame: 12 weeks

Population: all subjects for whom data was available after beginning aripiprazole augmentation (14 of 15 subjects)

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
AripiprazoleClinical Global Impressions Improvement Scale (CGI)2.8 units on CGI scaleStandard Deviation 1.1

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026