Major Depression Vastly Under Treated In Patients With MS, Study Shows

Patients with MS and major depressive disorder often receive inadequate treatment for their depressive symptoms, according to a study published in the Journal Multiple Sclerosis.

Of the 260 patients with MS who were included in the study, approximately one fourth met the criteria for major depressive disorder.

Among those with major depressive disorder, approximately two thirds received no antidepressant medication.  Only 3 percent of patients with major depressive disorder received antidepressant medication in the proper amounts to effectively treat their illness, while the remaining patients in this subgroup received antidepressant medications, but in amounts that were not enough to treat their illness.

"The finding that most patients with major depressive disorder who received treatment received only threshold doses suggests that care did not meet guidelines for the treatment of depression ... ," the authors wrote. "Such guidelines require frequent follow-up and dose adjustment until full symptom remission has occurred."

Neurologists were not more likely than other physicians to prescribe antidepressant medication in suitable doses.

"The development and validation of programs aimed at improving care for depression among patients with MS has the potential to greatly improve the quality of life of patients with MS," the authors concluded.