Informing & Supporting Thyroid Patients Since 1985
Informing & Supporting Thyroid Patients Since 1985
Thyroid Research 
Thyroid Research Archive Thyroid Horme Therapy
(March 2005)
The background of the study. Triiodothyronine (T3) can speed and augment the response to tricyclic antidepressant drug therapy in patients with depression. This study was done to determine if T3 had similar beneficial effects in patients with depression treated with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.
How the study was done. The study subjects were 113 patients (mean age, 46 years) with a major depressive disorder. They were assigned at random to receive paroxetine plus 25 µg of T3, paroxetine plus 50 µg of T3, or paroxetine plus placebo daily for 2 months. The patients were evaluated for depression at base line and after 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks, using a standard rating scale, and for adverse effects.
The results of the study. The base-line characteristics of the three treatment groups were similar. There was a significant decrease in the depression score in each group during the 2-month study period. The magnitude of the decrease in score and the proportion of patients who responded or had a remission were similar in all three groups, as was the rate of decrease in score. During the study, the frequency of palpitations, sweating, and nervousness was higher in the patients given T3, especially the 50-µg T3 group, as compared with the placebo group.
The conclusions of the study. In patients with depression, combined T3 and paroxetine treatment does not increase the extent or rate of response to paroxetine, and there are more adverse effects than in patients treated with paroxetine alone.
The original article. Appelhof BC, Brouwer JP, van Dyck R, Fliers E, Hoogendijk WJ, Huyser J, Schene AH, Tijssen JG, Wiersinga WM. Triiodothyronine addition to paroxetine in the treatment of major depressive disorder. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2004:89:6271-6.
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