Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25677354›Full record

Trial reportThe American journal of psychiatry2015

Citalopram, methylphenidate, or their combination in geriatric depression: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Helen Lavretsky, Michelle Reinlieb, Natalie St Cyr, Prabha Siddarth, Linda M Ercoli, Damla Senturk

Open access · greenAbstract readComparative StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in The American journal of psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
63citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
16.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

63 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 182 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A Systematic Review of Antidepressants and Psychotherapy Commonly Used in the Treatment of Late Life Depression for Their Effects on Cognition.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2025
    Pooled it
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  11. Trajectories of late-life depression: insights from molecular imaging.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Review
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  13. Pharmacotherapy of major depressive disorder in older adults: from an evidence-informed stepwise algorithm to precision medicine.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
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  19. Investigating the Prevalence and Predictors of Apathy among the Canadian Long-Term Care Residents: A Secondary Data Analysis.The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmieres · 2024
    Article
  20. Treatment-Resistant Depression in Older Adults.The New England journal of medicine · 2024
    Review

3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Helen LavretskyFrom the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles; the Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles; and the Departments of Biostatistics and Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles.
Michelle ReinliebFrom the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles; the Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles; and the Departments of Biostatistics and Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles.
Natalie St CyrFrom the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles; the Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles; and the Departments of Biostatistics and Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles.
Prabha SiddarthFrom the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles; the Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles; and the Departments of Biostatistics and Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles.
Linda M ErcoliFrom the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles; the Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles; and the Departments of Biostatistics and Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles.
Damla SenturkFrom the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles; the Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles; and the Departments of Biostatistics and Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles.
UCLA Medical Center · US

Funding

Methylphenidate Use to Improve Outcomes in Geriatric DepressionR01MH077650 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI LAVRETSKY, HELEN · 2008 to 2012
$1.8M
Neurobiological Mechanisms of Treatment Response in Geriatric DepressionK24MH086481 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI LAVRETSKY, HELEN · 2010 to 2014
$906k
NIMH NIH HHS K24 MH086481NIMH NIH HHS MH077650NIMH NIH HHS MH086481NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH077650
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe authors evaluated the potential of methylphenidate to improve antidepressant response to citalopram, as assessed by clinical and cognitive outcomes, in elderly depressed patients.

methodThe authors conducted a 16-week randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial for geriatric depression in 143 older outpatients diagnosed with major depression comparing treatment response in three treatment groups: methylphenidate plus placebo (N=48), citalopram plus placebo (N=48), and citalopram plus methylphenidate (N=47). The primary outcome measure was change in depression severity. Remission was defined as a score of 6 or less on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Secondary outcomes included measures of anxiety, apathy, quality of life, and cognition.

resultsDaily doses ranged from 20 mg to 60 mg for citalopram (mean=32 mg) and from 5 mg to 40 mg for methylphenidate (mean=16 mg). All groups showed significant improvement in depression severity and in cognitive performance. However, the improvement in depression severity and the Clinical Global Impressions improvement score was more prominent in the citalopram plus methylphenidate group compared with the other two groups. Additionally, the rate of improvement in the citalopram plus methylphenidate group was significantly higher than that in the citalopram plus placebo group in the first 4 weeks of the trial. The groups did not differ in cognitive improvement or number of side effects.

conclusionsCombined treatment with citalopram and methylphenidate demonstrated an enhanced clinical response profile in mood and well-being, as well as a higher rate of remission, compared with either drug alone. All treatments led to an improvement in cognitive functioning, although augmentation with methylphenidate did not offer additional benefits.

Indexed as

AgedAnxiety DisordersApathyCitalopramCognition DisordersDouble-Blind MethodDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleHumansMajor Depressive DisorderMaleMethylphenidateMiddle AgedPersonality AssessmentPsychometricsQuality of LifeCitalopramMethylphenidate

Identifiers

PMID25677354
PMCPMC4451432
OpenAlexW2036375653

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.