Biological markers, treatment outcome, and 1-year follow-up in endogenous depression: electroencephalographic sleep studies and response to cognitive therapy.

Although there are now considerable data attesting to the efficacy of several forms of treatment for depression, there is surprisingly little information to guide the selection of the treatment most likely to benefit a given patient. Biologic markers of depression have received much attention for their potential to provide theoretically and clinically meaningful subgroups for specific treatments. The relationship between electroencephalographic (EEG) sleep disturbances, treatment outcome, and 1-year follow-up was examined for a sample of 53 patients with endogenous major depression receiving cognitive-behavioral therapy. Overall, there was little support for the prediction of a difference in short- or long-term outcome between patients with and without EEG sleep disturbances.