Schatzberg A F, DeBattista C
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, Calif 94305-5548, USA.
J Clin Psychiatry. 1999;60 Suppl 15:17-20.
Agitation is a troublesome, common symptom in major depression that can be difficult to manage. It is sometimes a side effect of antidepressant treatment and may occasionally represent a mixed bipolar episode. If agitation fails to respond to an antidepressant alone, treatment may be augmented with a benzodiazepine, a neuroleptic, or lithium. Preliminary evidence indicates that divalproex, which has been found useful for bipolar disorder and for agitation associated with Alzheimer's disease, may also be effective for agitated depression. A controlled trial is now underway.
