Paroxetine in depressed adolescents with intellectual disability: an open label study

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Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and side‐effects of paroxetine treatment in adolescents with mild intellectual disability and major depressive disorder (MDD). Seven adolescents (14.7–18.4 years of age) were treated with paroxetine (dosage 20–40 mg day−1). Clinical changes were assessed at the beginning of the pharmacological treatment and after 9 weeks utilizing the DSM‐IV diagnostic criteria and the Montgomery‐Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Four out of the seven subjects did not fulfil the DSM‐IV diagnostic criteria after the 9‐week treatment. The mean decrease in the total score on the MADRS was significant (41%). Some items of the MADRS showed significant improvement: inner tension (66%); lassitude (55%); apparent sadness (53%); inability to feel (44%); and reported sadness (43%). Three subjects showed sedation, two subjects gastrointestinal complaints and one subject insomnia; all these symptoms were transitory and not severe. No behavioural activation was evident. This preliminary, uncontrolled study of a few cases suggests that adolescents with intellectual disability and MDD may respond to paroxetine, and that adverse side‐effects are mild.

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