TY - JOUR
T1 - The relationship between serum folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels in major depressive disorder and the timing of improvement with fluoxetine
AU - Papakostas, George I.
AU - Petersen, Timothy
AU - Lebowitz, Barry D.
AU - Mischoulon, David
AU - Ryan, Julie L.
AU - Nierenberg, Andrew A.
AU - Bottiglieri, Teodoro
AU - Alpert, Jonathan E.
AU - Rosenbaum, Jerrold F.
AU - Fava, Maurizio
PY - 2005/12
Y1 - 2005/12
N2 - The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between serum folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels and the timing of clinical improvement to fluoxetine in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients. A total of 110 outpatients with MDD who responded to an 8-wk trial of fluoxetine had serum folate, B12, and homocysteine measurements at baseline (prior to fluoxetine initiation). Onset of clinical improvement was defined as a 30% decrease in Hamilton Depression Scale scores that led to a 50% decrease by week 8. Patients with low folate levels (≤2.5 ng/ml) were more likely to experience a later onset of clinical improvement than eufolatemic patients (p=0.0028). B12 and homocysteine level status did not predict time to clinical improvement (p>0.05). In conclusion, low serum folate levels were found to be associated with a delayed onset of clinical improvement during treatment with fluoxetine in MDD by, on average, 1.5 wk.
AB - The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between serum folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels and the timing of clinical improvement to fluoxetine in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients. A total of 110 outpatients with MDD who responded to an 8-wk trial of fluoxetine had serum folate, B12, and homocysteine measurements at baseline (prior to fluoxetine initiation). Onset of clinical improvement was defined as a 30% decrease in Hamilton Depression Scale scores that led to a 50% decrease by week 8. Patients with low folate levels (≤2.5 ng/ml) were more likely to experience a later onset of clinical improvement than eufolatemic patients (p=0.0028). B12 and homocysteine level status did not predict time to clinical improvement (p>0.05). In conclusion, low serum folate levels were found to be associated with a delayed onset of clinical improvement during treatment with fluoxetine in MDD by, on average, 1.5 wk.
KW - Fluoxetine
KW - Folate
KW - Homocysteine
KW - Onset
KW - Response
KW - Vitamin B12
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U2 - 10.1017/S1461145705005195
DO - 10.1017/S1461145705005195
M3 - Article
C2 - 15877935
AN - SCOPUS:25644442845
VL - 8
SP - 523
EP - 528
JO - International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
JF - International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
SN - 1461-1457
IS - 4
ER -