Propranolol, 60 mg or less, was administered daily between 5:30 and 6:00
a.m. to 33 patients with winter depression. After open treatment with a
mean dose of 33 mg/day, 24 patients (73%) met the remission criteria; 23
completed double-blind continuation or placebo substitution. Subjects who
continued to receive propranolol had a mean increase in Hamilton depression
score of 3.5, whereas patients switched to placebo had an increase of 11.2;
the difference was statistically significant. These findings are consistent
with the hypothesis that duration of nocturnal melatonin secretion is the
critical seasonal time cue in humans.
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