Help Available for Depression Triggered by
Interferon <br>Antidepressants Make This Cancer, Hepatitis C
Therapy More Bearable <br>By L.A. McKeown <br>WebMD
Medical News <br>Reviewed by Dr. Jacqueline Brooks
<br>March 29, 2001 -- For some people with hepatitis,
certain cancers, and <br>multiple sclerosis, drugs
designed to extend life also can spoil its quality.
<br>Interferon alpha, a drug used to fight these diseases, can
cause a crippling <br>depression. New research now
shows that taking an antidepressant for a few
<br>weeks, before starting treatment, can reduce this
likelihood. <br>When people with the skin cancer malignant
melanoma were given the <br>antidepressant Paxil for two
weeks before they started chemotherapy with
<br>high-dose interferon, only 11% developed depression
compared with 45% of <br>those who did not receive Paxil
before interferon therapy. <br>Depression associated
with high doses of interferon is very common, but
<br>patients shouldn't have to suffer through it or accept it
as part of their <br>treatment. <br>Andrew H.
Miller, MD, of the department of psychiatry and
behavioral sciences <br>at Emory University School of
Medicine in Atlanta, says doctors have assumed <br>for
years that depression associated with cancer is
psychological. But his <br>small study of 40 patients is further
proof that the therapies themselves can <br>induce
depression. <br>"About 33% of patients who started on the
interferon had to stop because the <br>depression was so
severe," says Miller, lead author of the research, which
<br>appears in the March 29 issue of The New England Journal
of Medicine. "We <br>tend to ... have patients grin
and bear it. We also have a tendency to expect
<br>people to be depressed because they have cancer."
<br>The good news, he says, is Paxil and other
antidepressants not only help <br>alleviate the depression that
could cause people to stop treatment, but also <br>help
in other ways. Study participants who took Paxil
before undergoing 12 <br>weeks of interferon treatment
reported less pain and fewer stomach problems. <br>They
also reported less confusion, distractibility, or
memory problems and <br>slightly less fatigue than
people who didn't get the antidepressants. <br>"I think
patients should be aware of this, and they should think
long and <br>hard about whether they want to take
advantage of a treatment that may keep <br>them in a state
where they will still feel like being with family and
friends <br>and still functioning at some level while
[undergoing therapy]," Miller says. <br>"Depression is not
just sadness. People can become irritable -- they
become <br>difficult, ... that can cause tension within
the family."