Prognosis and Treatment of Depression in the Elderly
Written by:
Petros Skapinakis, MD, MPH, PhD, lecturer of Psychiatry in the University of Ioannina Medical School, Greece.
Eva Gerasi, postgraduate student in the Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Ioannina, Greece.
First version: 22 Jul 2008.
Latest revision:
12 Jan 2009.
Abstract:
Is depression easily treated in older patients?
Question:
Is depression easily treated in older patients?
Answer:
Depression in elderly patients is more likely to be more severe and to respond to treatment less favourably. It is more often treated with physical methods such as drugs; and also, particularly when it is extremely severe, is causing delusions or is life-threatening, electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) is liable to provide a safe and rapidly effective treatment.
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