Platelet Activation in Depression and Effects of Sertraline Treatment: An Open-Label Study

OBJECTIVE: The authors’ goal was to determine whether sertraline attenuates the increased platelet activation seen among depressed patients.METHOD: They tested 21 otherwise healthy patients with untreated major depressive episode who were 25–52 years old and 21 age- and sex-matched comparison subjects. Patients received 6 weeks of sertraline treatment, and 17 returned for retesting.RESULTS: At baseline, the depressed patients had greater platelet secretion than the comparison subjects in response to collagen. Depressed patients with a family history of coronary disease had nonsignificantly greater wound-induced fibrinogen receptor binding than the other subjects. Platelet secretion in response to collagen was significantly reduced after treatment with sertraline.CONCLUSIONS: Sertraline diminished the increased platelet secretion found among depressed patients, although the findings are limited by a lack of a placebo control group.