SAN FRANCISCO, April 25 -- Remission rates remain low for major depression even with multiple antidepressant drug classes available, but the recently approved selegiline patch (Emsam) aims to bring the rates up.
"The mission for the condition is remission," said James W. Jefferson, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, but "we are still stuck with this low remission rate."
Just getting a response with treatment, defined as reducing depression scores by at least half, is not enough, he said in a presentation here at the U.S. Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress regional extension.
The consequences of failing to achieve remission include greater relapse risk, increased risk of resistance to treatment, and worse prognosis for Axis III disorders.
