Three depressed geriatric patients had a marked therapeutic response to
the psychostimulant drug methylphenidate. These patients either had been
unable to tolerate tricyclic antidepressants or had a medical illness that
contraindicated tricyclic therapy. The lack of adverse effects in our
elderly patients and methylphenidate's effectiveness as an antidepressant
were consistent with the findings of other investigators. These results
suggest that psychostimulants deserve further evaluation as antidepressant
agents in the geriatric population.
Abstract Teaser