Skip to main content

EEG Model Predicts Response to SSRI Meds in Major Depressive Disorder

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 -- For patients with major depressive disorder, an electroencephalography (EEG)-based model can predict response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Network Open.

Benjamin Schwartzmann, from Simon Fraser University in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, and colleagues established a model based on EEG to predict response to two distinct SSRI medications in a prognostic study. EEG data were collected between 2011 and 2017 from two independent cohorts of participants with depression: the first Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression (CAN-BIND) group and the Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response for Clinical Care (EMBARC) consortium. Participants were aged 18 to 65 years and had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder; 125 participants from CAN-BIND received an eight-week treatment regimen of escitalopram treatment and 105 EMBARC participants were randomly assigned to eight weeks of sertraline or placebo.

The researchers found that the model achieved a balanced accuracy of 64.2 percent, with sensitivity and specificity of 66.1 and 62.3 percent, respectively, during internal validation with CAN-BIND. The model achieved balanced accuracy of 63.7 percent during external validation with EMBARC and achieved sensitivity and specificity of 58.8 and 68.5 percent, respectively. The balanced accuracy for the EMBARC placebo group was 48.7 percent, with sensitivity and specificity of 50.0 and 47.3 percent, respectively.

"These findings represent a substantial advancement toward using EEG in future clinical practice and supporting its potential to match patients with major depressive disorder to optimized treatment," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Risk of Suicide, Homicide Both Higher at Night

FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- The risk of suicide and homicide is higher at night than might be expected based on the number of people awake at that time, according to a study published...

Social Media Use Tied to Depression, but Not Sole Cause in Young Adults

FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- Social media use and depression are associated, but social media use is not prospectively related to the course of depressive symptoms, according to a...

Many Patients Have Discontinuation Symptoms After Stopping Antidepressants

THURSDAY, June 6, 2024 -- A considerable proportion of patients have discontinuation symptoms (e.g., dizziness, headache, nausea, insomnia, and irritability) after...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.