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Design of Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study-2
Martin BK, Frangakis CE, Rosenberg PB, Mintzer JE, Katz IR, Porsteinsson AP, Schneider LS, Rabins PV et al.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2006-11-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective Research on the efficacy of antidepressant therapy for depressive symptoms in Alzheimer disease has been hampered by lack of systematic diagnosis, small sample sizes, and short-term follow up. To address these issues, the authors present the design of the Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study-2 (DIADS-2), a randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline for the treatment of depression in people with Alzheimer disease. Methods The authors present and discuss the following important aspects of the design: the inclusion of structured psychosocial therapy for the caregivers of all participants; the measurement not only of patient mood outcomes, but also of global and functional outcomes for patients and mood and burden outcomes for caregivers; the ongoing rating of multiple diagnostic criteria to allow nosologic study of depression in Alzheimer disease; the evaluation of both short-term efficacy and longer-term outcomes; the follow up of all patients regardless of whether they complete study treatment; and the unmasking of treatment assignment at the conclusion of each patient's treatment phase. Conclusions The authors believe these design elements are important features to be included in trials of depression and other neuropsychiatric disturbances in Alzheimer disease.
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APA 7th
Martin, B. K., Frangakis, C. E., Rosenberg, P. B., Mintzer, J. E., Katz, I. R., Porsteinsson, A. P., et al. (2006). Design of Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study-2. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jgp.0000240977.71305.ee
Vancouver
Martin BK, Frangakis CE, Rosenberg PB, Mintzer JE, Katz IR, Porsteinsson AP, et al. Design of Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study-2. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2006. doi:10.1097/01.jgp.0000240977.71305.ee. PMID: 17068314.
BibTeX
@article{martin2006-17068314,
author = {Martin, B. K. and Frangakis, C. E. and Rosenberg, P. B. and Mintzer, J. E. and Katz, I. R. and Porsteinsson, A. P. and Schneider, L. S. and Rabins, P. V. and others},
title = {{Design of Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study-2}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1097/01.jgp.0000240977.71305.ee},
pmid = {17068314},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jgp.0000240977.71305.ee}
}
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.
Key findings
- Objective Research on the efficacy of antidepressant therapy for depressive symptoms in Alzheimer disease has been hampered by lack of systematic diagnosis, small sample sizes, and short-term follow up.
- To address these issues, the authors present the design of the Depression in Alzheimer's Disease Study-2 (DIADS-2), a randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline for the treatment of depression in people with Alzheimer disease.
- Methods The authors present and discuss the following important aspects of the design: the inclusion of structured psychosocial therapy for the caregivers of all participants; the measurement not only of patient mood outcomes, but also of global and functional outcomes for patients and mood and burden outcomes for caregivers; the ongoing rating of multiple diagnostic criteria to allow nosologic study of depression in Alzheimer disease; the evaluation of both short-term efficacy and longer-term outcomes; the follow up of all patients regardless of whether they complete study treatment; and the unmasking of treatment assignment at the conclusion of each patient's treatment phase.
- Conclusions The authors believe these design elements are important features to be included in trials of depression and other neuropsychiatric disturbances in Alzheimer disease.
Why it matters
Earlier studies of antidepressants for depression in Alzheimer's were limited by "lack of systematic diagnosis, small sample sizes, and short-term follow up." This paper sets out the plan for DIADS-2, a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of the antidepressant sertraline. The plan gives caregiver support to every family, measures caregiver mood and burden alongside patient outcomes, and follows all patients even if they stop treatment. It reports no results, so it cannot tell you whether sertraline helps depression in Alzheimer's, and it is not about treating Alzheimer's itself.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and 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 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 37 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.7 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 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 9 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17068314) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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