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Pharmacological interventions
More ACTIONS needed to reach a consensus on adjunctive antidepressant therapy for negative symptoms of schizophrenia
  1. Shahin Akhondzadeh,
  2. Ehsan Moazen-Zadeh
  1. Psychiatric Research Center, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  1. Correspondence to Professor Shahin Akhondzadeh, Psychiatric Research Center, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 13337, Iran; s.akhond{at}neda.net

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/eb-2016-102500

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    ABSTRACT FROM: Barnes TR, Leeson VC, Paton C, et al. Antidepressant Controlled Trial For Negative Symptoms In Schizophrenia (ACTIONS): a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial. Health Technol Assess 2016;20:1–46.OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed

    What is already known on this topic?

    Persistent negative symptoms which do not respond to antipsychotic regimens are experienced by 15–20% of patients with schizophrenia.1 Antidepressants have been the most studied augmentation strategy in these patients;2 however, previous findings are inconsistent in terms of their potential benefits.

    Methods of the study

    In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, 15-centre pragmatic trial, 62 patients with schizophrenia with persistent primary negative symptoms were randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either citalopram (20 mg/day) or placebo as an adjunctive therapy to the baseline ongoing stable dose of second generation antipsychotic treatment for 48 weeks. Patients were excluded in case of receiving any antidepressants or any drug that risked interaction with citalopram at baseline. Between-group differences in …

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