Creatine Treatment for Female Adolescents With Depression Who Are Non-Responders to Fluoxetine or Escitalopram

Summary

The purpose of this study is to see if creatine, which is a naturally occurring chemical in the body, is effective for treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in female teenagers. Creatine may have effects of interest in the brain. The reason for the MRI component of this study is to learn about new ways to see inside the brain. The investigators will use magnetic fields and radio waves to look at the brain and chemicals in the brain. The investigators hope that this technique will have medial use in the future. The primary hypothesis of the study is that oral creatine supplementation will have a beneficial effect as adjunctive therapy in female adolescents with MDD who are non-responders to an adequate trial of the SSRIs Fluoxetine or Escitalopram.

Timeline

Start

2009-04

Primary completion

2012-12

Completion

2012-12

Publications

• Background Kondo DG, Hellem TL, Sung YH, Kim N, Jeong EK, Delmastro KK, Shi X, Renshaw PF. Review: magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies of pediatric major depressive disorder. Depress Res Treat. 2011;2011:650450. doi: 10.1155/2011/650450. Epub 2010 Oct 4.
• Results Kondo DG, Sung YH, Hellem TL, Fiedler KK, Shi X, Jeong EK, Renshaw PF. Open-label adjunctive creatine for female adolescents with SSRI-resistant major depressive disorder: a 31-phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy study. J Affect Disord. 2011 Dec;135(1-3):354-61. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2011.07.010. Epub 2011 Aug 9.

Drugs

Indications