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Cognitive outcomes after sertaline treatment in patients with depression of Alzheimer disease
Munro CA, Longmire CF, Drye LT, Martin BK, Frangakis CE, Meinert CL, Mintzer JE, Porsteinsson AP et al.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2012-12-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objectives Although many depressed patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) are treated with antidepressants, the effect of such treatment on cognitive performance in these patients is not known. The authors report cognitive outcomes in patients with depression of AD (dAD) after a 24-week trial of sertraline or placebo. Design Placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind trial. Setting Outpatient memory clinics at five academic medical centers in the United States. Participants A total of 131 patients with dAD (60 men) and Mini-Mental State Examination scores of 10-26. Intervention Sertraline (n = 67), target dose of 100 mg daily or matching placebo (n = 64). Caregivers received standardized psychosocial intervention throughout the trial. Measurements Mini-Mental State Examination, cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, letter fluency, backward digit span, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, and Finger Tapping Test, administered at baseline, and 8, 16, and 24 weeks following baseline. Results A series of linear models indicated no effect of treatment or of depression remission on cognitive test performance at 24 weeks. Regardless of treatment condition, very little change in cognitive test performance was noted in general. Conclusions Treatment with sertraline in patients with dAD is not associated with greater improvement in cognition at week 24 than treatment with placebo.
Key findings
- Results A series of linear models indicated no effect of treatment or of depression remission on cognitive test performance at 24 weeks.
- Conclusions Treatment with sertraline in patients with dAD is not associated with greater improvement in cognition at week 24 than treatment with placebo.
Why it matters
In this 24-week trial of 131 patients with depression of Alzheimer's disease, sertraline did not improve cognitive test performance compared with placebo. Treatment with sertraline was not associated with greater cognitive improvement, and depression remission also did not affect cognition.
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Study details
- Participants67
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 178 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 67 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 49 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.1 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 4 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Constantine George Lyketsos: h-index 130 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 8 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23032478) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1097/jgp.0b013e31826ce4c5
- PubMed: 23032478
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Munro, C. A., Longmire, C. F., Drye, L. T., Martin, B. K., Frangakis, C. E., Meinert, C. L., et al. (2012). Cognitive outcomes after sertaline treatment in patients with depression of Alzheimer disease. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e31826ce4c5
Vancouver
Munro CA, Longmire CF, Drye LT, Martin BK, Frangakis CE, Meinert CL, et al. Cognitive outcomes after sertaline treatment in patients with depression of Alzheimer disease. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2012. doi:10.1097/jgp.0b013e31826ce4c5. PMID: 23032478.
BibTeX
@article{munro2012-23032478,
author = {Munro, C. A. and Longmire, C. F. and Drye, L. T. and Martin, B. K. and Frangakis, C. E. and Meinert, C. L. and Mintzer, J. E. and Porsteinsson, A. P. and others},
title = {{Cognitive outcomes after sertaline treatment in patients with depression of Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1097/jgp.0b013e31826ce4c5},
pmid = {23032478},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e31826ce4c5}
}
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