Clinical Trials of Antidepressants

This brief guide takes current clinical trial protocols totask and replaces them with a contemporary framework for improvingnext-generation antidepressants and their underlying science. Innovative modelsare based on a nuanced, neurologically-informed understanding of drugmechanisms and the component cognitive, mood, and behavioral aspects ofdepression. The book reconceptualizes not only the clinical trial process butthe clinical concept of depression itself as essential to bringingpharmaceutical research and development up to date, boosting efficiency andeffectiveness, finding new molecules, and reducing waste. Case studies and areview of salient depression scales illustrate the potential benefits of suchwide-scale change. Included in the coverage:  Why now the need for a new clinical trials model for antidepressants? Aims and basic requirements of clinical trials: conventional and component-specific models. Methods for measuring the components and the profile of drug actions: the multivantaged approach. Achieving the ideal clinical trial: an example of the merged componential and established models. Prediction and shortening the clinical trial. The video clinical trial. Clinical Trials ofAntidepressants will interest a varied audience, including clinicalinvestigators, academic and pharmaceutical company scientists, clinical trialorganizations, psychiatrists, outpatient physicians, psychotherapists, clinicalpsychologists, psychology graduate students, medical students, and governmentagencies such as the FDA.