Trial reportThe Journal of clinical psychiatry2018
Transdermal Nicotine for the Treatment of Mood and Cognitive Symptoms in Nonsmokers With Late-Life Depression.
Trial report in The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Depressed Mood Improvement Through Nicotine Dosing (Depressed MIND Study)
Nicotinic Modulation of the Cognitive Control System in Late-life Depression
Nicotinic Modulation of the Cognitive Control System in Late-Life Depression (R33 Phase)
Open Label Extension Study of Depressed Mood Improvement Through Nicotine (Depressed MIND3)
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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 · 2025Pooled it
- The two-way relationship between nicotine and cortical activity: a systematic review of neurobiological and treatment aspects.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of open-label transdermal nicotine antidepressant augmentation on affective symptoms and executive function in late-life depression.Journal of affective disorders · 2024Trial
- Subjective cognition and mood in persistent chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2022Trial
- Nicotine in Neurodegenerative and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Mechanisms and Clinical Evidence.Neurochemical research · 2026Review
- The Modulatory Role of Nicotine and Alcohol in State-Dependent Learning and Memory.Addiction & health · 2026Review
- TOBACCO USE DISORDER AND DUAL DISORDERS Joint statement by the Spanish Psychiatry Society and the Spanish Dual Disorders Society.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2022Article
- Systematic Review of Nicotine Exposure's Effects on Neural Stem and Progenitor Cells.Brain sciences · 2021Review
- EEG as a Functional Marker of Nicotine Activity: Evidence From a Pilot Study of Adults With Late-Life Depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Independent and Combined Effects of Nicotine or Chronic Tobacco Smoking and HIV on the Brain: A Review of Preclinical and Clinical Studies.Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology · 2020Review
- Therapeutic Applications of Nicotinic Stimulation: Successes, Failures, and Future Prospects.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2019Article
- Linking late life depression and Alzheimer's disease: mechanisms and resilience.Current behavioral neuroscience reports · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveLate-life depression (LLD) is characterized by poor antidepressant response and cognitive dysfunction. This study examined whether transdermal nicotine benefits mood symptoms and cognitive performance in LLD.
methodsIn a 12-week open-label outpatient study conducted between November 2016 and August 2017, transdermal nicotine was given to 15 nonsmoking older adults (≥ 60 years of age). Eligible participants met DSM-IV-TR criteria for major depressive disorder with ≥ 15 on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating scale (MADRS) and endorsed subjective cognitive impairment. Transdermal nicotine patches were applied daily and titrated in a rigid dose escalation strategy to a maximum dose of 21.0 mg/d, allowing dose reductions for tolerability. The primary mood outcome was MADRS change measured every 3 weeks, with response defined as ≥ 50% improvement from baseline and remission as MADRS score ≤ 8. The primary cognitive outcome was the Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT), a test of attention.
resultsRobust rates of response (86.7%; 13/15 subjects) and remission (53.3%; 8/15 subjects) were observed. There was a significant decrease in MADRS scores over the study (β = -1.51, P < .001), with improvement seen as early as 3 weeks (Bonferroni-adjusted P value = .004). We also observed improvement in apathy and rumination. We did not observe improvement on the CPT but did observe improvement in subjective cognitive performance and signals of potential drug effects on secondary cognitive measures of working memory, episodic memory, and self-referential emotional processing. Overall, transdermal nicotine was well tolerated, although 6 participants could not reach the maximum targeted dose.
conclusionsNicotine may be a promising therapy for depressed mood and cognitive performance in LLD. A definitive placebo-controlled trial and establishment of longer-term safety are necessary before clinical usage.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02816138.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.