A Case of Treatment Resistant Depression and Alcohol Abuse in a Person with Mental Retardation: Response to Aripiprazole and Fluvoxamine Therapy upon Consideration of a Bipolar Diathesis after Repetitive Failure to Respond to Multiple Antidepressant Trials

Mental Retardation (MR) is a developmental disability characterized by impairments in adaptive daily life skills and difficulties in social and interpersonal functioning. Since multiple causes may contribute to MR, associated clinical pictures may vary accordingly. Nevertheless, when psychiatric dis...

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Main Authors: Michele Fornaro, Giovanni Ciampa, Nicola Mosti, Alessandra Del Carlo, Giuseppe Ceraudo, Salvatore Colicchio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2010-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/801514
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author Michele Fornaro
Giovanni Ciampa
Nicola Mosti
Alessandra Del Carlo
Giuseppe Ceraudo
Salvatore Colicchio
author_facet Michele Fornaro
Giovanni Ciampa
Nicola Mosti
Alessandra Del Carlo
Giuseppe Ceraudo
Salvatore Colicchio
author_sort Michele Fornaro
collection DOAJ
description Mental Retardation (MR) is a developmental disability characterized by impairments in adaptive daily life skills and difficulties in social and interpersonal functioning. Since multiple causes may contribute to MR, associated clinical pictures may vary accordingly. Nevertheless, when psychiatric disorders as Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) and/or alcohol abuse co-exist, their proper detection and management is often troublesome, essentially due to a limited vocabulary MR people could use to describe their symptoms, feelings and concerns, and the lack of reliable screening tools. Furthermore, MR people are among the most medicated subjects, with (over) prescription of antidepressants and/or typical antipsychotics being the rule rather than exception. Thus, treatment resistance or even worsening of depression, constitute frequent occurrences. This report describes the case of a person with MR who failed to respond to repetitive trials of antidepressant monotherapies, finally recovering using aripiprazole to fluvoxamine augmentation upon consideration of a putative bipolar diathesis for “agitated” TRD. Although further controlled investigations are needed to assess a putative bipolar diathesis in some cases of MR associated to TRD, prudence is advised in the long-term prescription of antidepressant monotherapies in such conditions.
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spelling doaj-art-9dc257cc498c4b168a0f33bfd010d9442025-08-20T02:20:29ZengWileyCase Reports in Medicine1687-96271687-96352010-01-01201010.1155/2010/801514801514A Case of Treatment Resistant Depression and Alcohol Abuse in a Person with Mental Retardation: Response to Aripiprazole and Fluvoxamine Therapy upon Consideration of a Bipolar Diathesis after Repetitive Failure to Respond to Multiple Antidepressant TrialsMichele Fornaro0Giovanni Ciampa1Nicola Mosti2Alessandra Del Carlo3Giuseppe Ceraudo4Salvatore Colicchio5Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University of Genova, 16100 Genova, ItalyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Neurosciences, Catholic University, 00168 Rome, ItalyMental Retardation (MR) is a developmental disability characterized by impairments in adaptive daily life skills and difficulties in social and interpersonal functioning. Since multiple causes may contribute to MR, associated clinical pictures may vary accordingly. Nevertheless, when psychiatric disorders as Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) and/or alcohol abuse co-exist, their proper detection and management is often troublesome, essentially due to a limited vocabulary MR people could use to describe their symptoms, feelings and concerns, and the lack of reliable screening tools. Furthermore, MR people are among the most medicated subjects, with (over) prescription of antidepressants and/or typical antipsychotics being the rule rather than exception. Thus, treatment resistance or even worsening of depression, constitute frequent occurrences. This report describes the case of a person with MR who failed to respond to repetitive trials of antidepressant monotherapies, finally recovering using aripiprazole to fluvoxamine augmentation upon consideration of a putative bipolar diathesis for “agitated” TRD. Although further controlled investigations are needed to assess a putative bipolar diathesis in some cases of MR associated to TRD, prudence is advised in the long-term prescription of antidepressant monotherapies in such conditions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/801514
spellingShingle Michele Fornaro
Giovanni Ciampa
Nicola Mosti
Alessandra Del Carlo
Giuseppe Ceraudo
Salvatore Colicchio
A Case of Treatment Resistant Depression and Alcohol Abuse in a Person with Mental Retardation: Response to Aripiprazole and Fluvoxamine Therapy upon Consideration of a Bipolar Diathesis after Repetitive Failure to Respond to Multiple Antidepressant Trials
Case Reports in Medicine
title A Case of Treatment Resistant Depression and Alcohol Abuse in a Person with Mental Retardation: Response to Aripiprazole and Fluvoxamine Therapy upon Consideration of a Bipolar Diathesis after Repetitive Failure to Respond to Multiple Antidepressant Trials
title_full A Case of Treatment Resistant Depression and Alcohol Abuse in a Person with Mental Retardation: Response to Aripiprazole and Fluvoxamine Therapy upon Consideration of a Bipolar Diathesis after Repetitive Failure to Respond to Multiple Antidepressant Trials
title_fullStr A Case of Treatment Resistant Depression and Alcohol Abuse in a Person with Mental Retardation: Response to Aripiprazole and Fluvoxamine Therapy upon Consideration of a Bipolar Diathesis after Repetitive Failure to Respond to Multiple Antidepressant Trials
title_full_unstemmed A Case of Treatment Resistant Depression and Alcohol Abuse in a Person with Mental Retardation: Response to Aripiprazole and Fluvoxamine Therapy upon Consideration of a Bipolar Diathesis after Repetitive Failure to Respond to Multiple Antidepressant Trials
title_short A Case of Treatment Resistant Depression and Alcohol Abuse in a Person with Mental Retardation: Response to Aripiprazole and Fluvoxamine Therapy upon Consideration of a Bipolar Diathesis after Repetitive Failure to Respond to Multiple Antidepressant Trials
title_sort case of treatment resistant depression and alcohol abuse in a person with mental retardation response to aripiprazole and fluvoxamine therapy upon consideration of a bipolar diathesis after repetitive failure to respond to multiple antidepressant trials
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/801514
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