Increased depression after starting interferon-β-1a treatment

Reactions 779 - 27 Nov 1999

■ Increased depression after starting interferon-β-1atreatment is related to the level of depression 2 weeksbefore starting treatment, according to Dr David Mohrand colleagues from the US. They say it is likely thatpatients’ expectations of the new therapy result in atemporary improvement in depression. Theseresearchers studied 56 patients with relapsing multiplesclerosis, using the depression-dejection scale of theProfile of Mood States. In patients who scored high onthe depression measure 2 weeks before startinginterferon-β-1a therapy, depression improvedsignificantly on starting treatment, but returned almostto baseline levels within 2 months. The investigatorsrecommend assessing history of depression in allpatients started on interferon-β-1a, as those with arecent history of depression are at risk of increaseddepression in the first 2 months of therapy, even ifthey are not depressed when starting treatment.Mohr DC, et al. Course of depression during the initiation of interferon beta-latreatment for multiple sclerosis. Archives of Neurology 56: 1263-1265, Oct1999 800804418

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Reactions 27 Nov 1999 No. 7790114-9954/10/0779-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved