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Pharmacotherapy of Seasonal Affective Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Edda Pjrek ,
Dietmar Winkler  and
Siegfried Kasper
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Abstract

Seasonal affective disorder is a common variant of recurrent major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. Treatment with bright artificial light has been found to be effective in this condition. However, for patients who do not respond to light therapy or those who lack compliance, conventional drug treatment with antidepressants also has been proposed. Substances with selective serotonergic or noradrenergic mechanisms should be preferred over older antidepressants. Although there are a number of open and controlled studies evaluating different compounds, these studies were often limited by relatively small sample sizes. Furthermore, there are no studies specifically addressing bipolar seasonal depression. This article will review the published literature on pharmacotherapy of seasonal affective disorder.

Type
Review Article
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 10 , Issue 8 , August 2005 , pp. 664 - 669
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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