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| |  Link Between Sleep Quality and Depression Treatment An Important Issue MILAN, Italy, May 12, 1997 -- The publication of data comparing the effects of two antidepressants on sleep quality in depressed patients may represent a significant development in the treatment of depression, according to Paolo L. Morselli, visiting professor in Clinical Neuropsychopharmacology at the Autonomus University of Barcelona, Spain, and executive vice president, IDEA (Institute for the Research and Prevention of Depression and Anxiety), an Italian advocacy association for patients suffering from depression and/or anxiety. Improved sleep quality and sleep efficiency may have positive consequences for the patient, including decreasing concomitant use of sedative/hypnotic agents and anxiolytics (for some medications, reducing the risk of abuse or addiction), improvement of compliance and improvement in quality of life. According to Professor Morselli, the correlation between sleep quality and depression treatment is an important issue. More than 80 percent of people with depression experience sleep disturbances, such as early morning waking or frequent awakenings throughout the whole night. In addition, in chronic low-grade depression, a condition believed to affect approximately three percent of people, insomnia and/or sleepiness may be the most prominent symptom. Disordered sleep physiology after clinical remission of depression may suggest either that sleep disruption is a trait characteristic of recurrent depression or that depressed patients acquire new habits that perpetuate sleep-related problems. Professor Morselli is of the strong opinion that restoring sleep quality should be an important factor to be considered when choosing an antidepressant because of its potential impact on treatment outcome and compliance. This issue will be addressed in a survey of the membership of a new Global Alliance of Mental Illness Advocacy Networks (GAMIAN) he is co-chairing with Mary Guardino, executive director of Freedom From Fear. The survey will be conducted this summer and, if completed in time, presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) meeting in September in Vienna. Dr. Morselli's recent comments on the relationship between depression and sleep quality were prompted by the expected announcement at the American Psychiatric Association meeting in San Diego, May 18, 1997, of the publication of two studies in the U.S. These studies are: -- "A Comparison of Nefazodone and Fluoxetine on Mood and on Objective, Subjective and Clinician-Related Measures of Sleep in Depressed Patients: A Double-Blind, 8-Week Clinical Trial," C. Gillin, M.D., et al, which is expected to be published in the May 1997 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. -- "A Multicenter, Double-Blind Comparison of the Effects of Nefazodone and Fluoxetine on Sleep Architecture and Quality of Sleep in Depressed Outpatients," R. Armitage, Ph.D., et al, which is expected to be published in the June 1997 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Professor Morselli sees potential benefits for patients with sleep problems associated with depression, and he believes that studies like these offer consumers further education about treatment options based on patient types and symptoms. He has published more than 300 papers related to psychotropic drugs, sleep, depression and anxiety. Professor Morselli believes that making more treatment options available to the millions of depression suffers around the world through efforts focused on educating physicians about the differences between antidepressants and selecting the correct antidepressant based on the clinical presentation of patients could improve treatment outcome. GAMIAN brings together an alliance of mental illness advocacy associations focused on anxiety and depressive illnesses and their comorbidity (the simultaneous occurrence of multiple psychiatric disorders). GAMIAN’s mission is to help advocacy associations around the world dispel stigmas associated with mental illness, create an awareness of treatment options for consumers and further research in key areas such as depression and anxiety. The organization is committed to building an international network of advocacy group members with mutual goals and interests in order to help people suffering from mental illnesses.
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