Omranifard 2014.
| Study characteristics | ||
| Methods | Double‐blind randomised controlled trial | |
| Participants |
Diagnosis: DSM‐IV major depressive disorder; score > 17 on HRSD‐24
N: 60 Age: memantine group M = 67.5 (SD = 5.4); placebo group M = 68.9 (SD = 6.1) Sex: memantine group 61% female; placebo group 59% female Baseline depression severity: memantine group HRSD = 29.8 (SD = 7.0); placebo group HRSD = 28.8 (SD = 7.2) |
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| Interventions | 8 weeks treatment Memantine (N = 28) dose titrated; 5 mg/day for first week, 5 mg twice daily for second week, 5 mg in the morning and 10 mg in evening for third week, 10 mg twice daily for fourth week. Target dose of 20 mg/day continued until eighth week Placebo (N = 29) one dose daily for first week, twice daily thereafter. Capsules same shape and taste as memantine Concomitant treatment: yes, all patients received citalopram 10 mg/daily initiation dose for first week and continued with 20 mg/daily for the rest of the study |
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| Outcomes | HRSD
Response rate (≥ 50% reduction in HRSD scores) Remission rate (score < 7 on HRSD) Geriatric depression scale (GDS‐15) WHO‐QOL MMSE |
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| Notes | ||
| Risk of bias | ||
| Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) | Low risk | Quote: ''Selected patients were randomized into two groups: Intervention and placebo groups using permuted block design sampling with size of two for each block. Two consecutive patients were randomly allocated to the treatment and control groups in each step till to complete the sample size'' |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) | Low risk | Quote: ''Both the examiner and the patients were unaware of the component of the drugs and they used the drugs in the name of A and B. A questionnaire was filled secretly and every patient received a code for trial'' |
| Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes | Low risk | Quote: ''Both the examiner and the patients were unaware of the component of the drugs and they used the drugs in the name of A and B. A questionnaire was filled secretly and every patient received a code for trial'' |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes | Low risk | Quote: ''A questionnaire was filled secretly and every patient received a code for trial'' |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes | Low risk | Study reports dropout figures |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) | High risk | Not all secondary outcome measures reported |
| Other bias | Low risk | No other potential sources of bias identified |