Season affective disorder drug

I was speaking to one of my colleagues at work a couple of days ago about the horrible rainy weather that we are having right now and she mentioned that she suffers from SAD, seasonal affective disorder. This condition usually affects people in the winter in the northern latitudes, like here in Canada when there is not much sun during the Winter. Wellbutrin XL is a drug that has been hoped to treat this problem.

This week the FDA in the United States approved the first drug for the treatment of SAD and it has been a long wait for many people. Wellbutrin XL is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and on June 12th this drug was finally approved for sale to be prescribed for seasonal affective disorder.

A doctor is the only one that can really figure out if the depression you feel is seasonal affective disorder or clinical depression or the “blues” that can all be treated in different ways.

SAD is characterized by recurrent major depressive episodes that usually coincide with the seasonal decrease of daylight during autumn and winter. The depressive episodes can last up to 6 months. Although patients with SAD may have depressive episodes during other times of the year, the diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder requires that the number of seasonal episodes substantially outnumber the non-seasonal episodes during the individual’s lifetime.

A major depressive episode is defined as the presence of 5 or more of the 9 core symptoms of major depression for at least 2 weeks. The symptoms include: depressed mood; loss of interest; weight loss (or other weight or appetite changes); insomnia or hypersomnia; agitation or psychomotor retardation; fatigue; feelings of worthlessness or guilt; impaired concentration; suicidal thinking or behavior. One of the 5 symptoms must be either depressed mood or loss of interest in activities. Another essential feature of major depression is the presence of significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. A seasonal major depressive episode is defined by the identical features.

“Seasonal affective disorder can significantly impair the quality of life of patients with this condition,” said Dr. Steven Galson, Director for FDA’s Center of Drugs and Research. “Today’s approval can help patients with this condition to avoid the depressive symptoms and impaired functioning that typically affect them in the fall and winter.”

The effectiveness of Wellbutrin XL for the prevention of SAD episodes was established in 3 double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in adults with a history of major depressive disorder in autumn and winter. Treatment was initiated prior to the onset of symptoms in the autumn (September to November) and was discontinued following a two-week taper that began the first week of spring (fourth week of March). In these trials, the percentage of patients who were depression-free at the end of treatment was significantly higher for those on Wellbutrin XL than for those on placebo; for all 3 studies combined, the overall rate of patients depression-free at the end of treatment was 84 percent for those on Wellbutrin XL compared to 72 percent for those on placebo.

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Tags: affective disorder, affective disorder drug, Canada, Center of Drugs and Research, clinical depression, depression, director, fatigue, fda, functioning, GlaxoSmithKline, hypersomnia, insomnia, major depressive disorder, SAD, seasonal affective disorder, Steven Galson, United States, Wellbutrin XL

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