Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of the use of Lithium to Augment Antidepressant Medication in Continuation Treatment of Unipolar Major Depression

The efficacy of lithium augmentation in the continuation treatment of unipolar major depressive disorder was examined. 30 patients with a refractory major depressive episode who had responded to acute lithium augmentation during an open 6-week study participated in a randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of lithium augmentation during continuation treatment. Relapses, including one suicide, occurred in 7 of the 15 patients who received placebo in addition to antidepressants. None of the 14 patients who received lithium augmentation with antidepressants suffered a relapse during the double-blind phase of the study. (44 refs.)