Desvenlafaxine vs. Placebo Treatment of Chronic Depression

Summary

The investigators are studying a new antidepressant medicine, desvenlafaxine, for the treatment of people with chronic depression. Desvenlafaxine (trade name Pristiq) has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of major depression. The investigators are testing whether this medicine is also effective for adults with a type of chronic depression that is less severe than major depression. This condition is also known as dysthymic disorder or dysthymia. Chronic depression, lasting two or more years, often causes significant suffering and impairment. In addition, the investigators are using MRI imaging, which uses magnetic signals to make pictures of the brain's structure and also of its functioning. The purpose of MRI imaging in this study is to see whether chronic depression is associated with differences in brain structure or functioning, and whether such differences change after medication or placebo treatment. To test this MRI scans are done at the start of the study and after 12 weeks of medication or placebo treatment. Getting MRI imaging will be an option for participants in this study but is not required. This study involves a 6 to 12 week double-blind period during which half of the participants will take the new medication and half will take a placebo (an inactive look-alike pill). After the double blind phase, all subjects can be treated for 12 weeks with an FDA-approved antidepressant medication. Assessments (of depressive symptoms, social functioning, and personality) will be done by study staff and by patients before the study starts, at each study visit for the first 12 weeks, and again after 24 weeks in the study.

Timeline

Start

2012-02

Primary completion

2016-08

Completion

2016-12

Publications

• Background DeMartinis NA, Yeung PP, Entsuah R, Manley AL. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the efficacy and safety of desvenlafaxine succinate in the treatment of major depressive disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 2007 May;68(5):677-88. doi: 10.4088/jcp.v68n0504.
• Background Levkovitz Y, Tedeschini E, Papakostas GI. Efficacy of antidepressants for dysthymia: a meta-analysis of placebo-controlled randomized trials. J Clin Psychiatry. 2011 Apr;72(4):509-14. doi: 10.4088/JCP.09m05949blu.
• Bansal R, Hellerstein DJ, Sawardekar S, Chen Y, Peterson BS. Effects of antidepressant medications on brain tissue microstructure in persistent depressive disorder across two randomized controlled trials. Neuroimage Clin. 2026;50:104013. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2026.104013. Epub 2026 May 27.
• Bansal R, Hellerstein DJ, Sawardekar S, Chen Y, Peterson BS. A randomized controlled trial of desvenlafaxine-induced structural brain changes in the treatment of persistent depressive disorder. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2023 Jun;331:111634. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2023.111634. Epub 2023 Mar 24.
• Yang J, Hellerstein DJ, Chen Y, McGrath PJ, Stewart JW, Peterson BS, Wang Z. Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor antidepressant effects on regional connectivity of the thalamus in persistent depressive disorder: evidence from two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. Brain Commun. 2022 Apr 15;4(3):fcac100. doi: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac100. eCollection 2022.
• Hellerstein DJ, Stewart JW, Chen Y, Arunagiri V, Peterson BS, McGrath PJ. Desvenlafaxine vs. placebo in the treatment of persistent depressive disorder. J Affect Disord. 2019 Feb 15;245:403-411. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.065. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Drugs

Indications