No abstract available.
Urinary Bladder, Overactive* ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare duloxetine monotherapy to combination therapy with other antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder in a clinical, real world setting. METHODS: An eight-week, retrospective, multi-center study of outpatients with major depressive disorder was undertaken. After screening 415 patients, enrolled in this study from July 2009 to June 2014 were 82 patients from among three centers who had been taking duloxetine with or without other antidepressant and not administered with atypical antipsychotics. We compared the mean changes of the Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale (CGI-S) as a primary measure and the discontinuation rate as a secondary measure between the duloxetine monotherapy group (n=36, 43.9%) and the combination therapy with other antidepressants group (n=46, 56.1%) at baseline, one, two, four and eight weeks. RESULTS: There were no significant differences across the demographic characteristics between two groups. There was, however, a statistically greater improvement on the CGI-S at weeks 2, 4 and 8 in the combination group compared with the monotherapy group. There were no significant differences in discontinuation rate and adverse events between two groups. No serious adverse events were reported in both groups during the study period. CONCLUSION: This result suggests that the duloxetine combination therapy with other antidepressants could improve effectiveness and have comparable tolerability with the monotherapy in the treatment of outpatients with major depressive disorders in a naturalistic setting. Adequately powered, well-controlled clinical trials are strongly warranted to confirm our findings due to methodological shortcomings.
Antidepressive Agents* ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Depressive Disorder, Major* ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride* ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Outpatients ; Retrospective Studies*

Duloxetine is a relatively balanced selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. We report a case of hyponatremia induced by duloxetine developed rapidly after starting the medication in a middle-aged male with multiple somatic symptoms and depression. Two days after discontinuation of duloxetine and management with hypertonic saline as well as fluid restriction, the serum sodium level normalized. The patient had two risk factors for developing hyponatremia, such as severe body weight loss and pneumonia. Therefore, when treating patients with depression and somatic symptoms, especially with risk factors for developing hyponatremia, close monitoring for clinical and laboratory evidence of hyponatremia may be essential.
Body Weight ; Depression ; Humans ; Hyponatremia ; Male ; Norepinephrine ; Pneumonia ; Risk Factors ; Serotonin ; Sodium ; Thiophenes ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride

Here we report a case of serotonin syndrome caused by fluoxetine 20 mg and duloxetine 60 mg independently eight week apart. A 65-year old man developed fever, agitation and change of mental status after two weeks treatment with 20 mg of fluoxetine for depressive disorder. He was diagnosed unknown fever origin and discharged when fever subsided as antidepressant stopped. Eight weeks later he was prescribed 60 mg of duloxetine for the treatment of depressed mood. After 18 days on duloxetine he developed fever, agitation, myoclonus and change in mental status again. He improved rapidly after discontinuation of offending drug with supportive care. Despite serotonin syndrome is usually caused by poly-pharmacy of serotonergic drugs, this case shows unusual serotonin syndrome developed by therapeutic dose of two drugs of different classes independently.
Depressive Disorder ; Dihydroergotamine ; Fever ; Fluoxetine ; Humans ; Myoclonus ; Serotonin ; Serotonin Agents ; Serotonin Syndrome ; Thiophenes ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride

Duloxetine is a balanced serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Duloxetine-induced liver injury in patients with preexisting liver disease or chronic alcohol use is known. However, we have found that duloxetine can also induce liver injury in cases without those risk factors. We recommend that clinicians should monitor liver function carefully following duloxetine treatment.
Depressive Disorder, Major ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Diseases ; Organothiophosphorus Compounds ; Risk Factors ; Thiophenes ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by chronic widespread pain and various accompanying symptoms including fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive dysfunction. While the etiology of fibromyalgia is unclear, accumulating data suggest that disordered central pain processing likely plays a role in the pathogenesis of symptoms. Although the 1990 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for FMS were originally developed for research purposes and were not intended for clinical diagnosis, the criteria have become the de facto diagnostic criteria in clinical settings. Recently, an improved clinical case definition for FMS was proposed by ACR in 2010 to overcome several limitations of 1990 ACR criteria. Further studies are needed to assess the acceptance, reliability, and validity of the new criteria in epidemiologic and clinical studies. Many randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses confirm the therapeutic efficacy of pregabalin, duloxetine, and milnacipran, in the treatment of FMS. In view of the currently available evidence, a combination of pregabalin, duloxetine, or milnacipran as pharmacological interventions and aerobic exercise or CBT as non-pharmacological interventions seems most promising.
Cyclopropanes ; Exercise ; Fatigue ; Fibromyalgia ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Rheumatology ; Thiophenes ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride ; Pregabalin

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relative severity of nausea in patients from Korea with major depressive disorder (MDD) who were treated with duloxetine at low (30 mg) or high (60 mg) doses, with or without food, for the first week of an 8 week treatment. METHODS: Adult patients (n=249), with MDD and a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD17) score of > or =15, received open-label once daily duloxetine. At Week 0, patients were randomized to 4 groups: 30 mg with food (n=63), 60 mg with food (n=59), 30 mg without food (n=64), and 60 mg without food (n=63). At Week 1, all patients switched to duloxetine 60 mg for 7 weeks. The primary outcome measure was item 112 (nausea) of the Association for Methodology and Documentation in Psychiatry adverse event scale. Effectiveness was assessed by change in HAMD17 total score. RESULTS: Overall, 94.4% (235/249) of patients completed Week 1 and 55.0% (137/249) of patients completed the study. For Week 1, nausea was significantly less severe for patients who received 30 mg compared with 60 mg duloxetine (p=0.003), regardless of food intake. In all groups, nausea severity was highest at Week 1 and declined throughout the study. HAMD17 score was reduced in all groups and the most common adverse event reported was nausea (145/249; 58.2%). CONCLUSION: To minimize nausea, Korean patients with MDD who require duloxetine treatment could be given 30 mg once daily, regardless of food, for the first week followed by 60 mg once daily for the course of therapy.
Adult ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Eating ; Humans ; Korea ; Nausea ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Thiophenes ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride

Patients with urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes (UCPPS) report interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and/or chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. The pathogenesis of these syndromes remains unclear and there is currently no standard treatment. UCPPS is, therefore, often misdiagnosed and its management is complex. The present case report involves a 62-year-old male patient with UCPPS whose main presentation is painful bladder filling and painful urgency refractory to conventional treatment with medication, which was successfully treated with the combined use of duloxetine and olanzapine. The combined use of duloxetine and olanzapine may become a new therapeutic option in the management of UCPPS.
Anxiety ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pelvic Pain ; Urinary Bladder

BACKGROUND: One of the most frequent problems caused by diabetes is the so called painful diabetic neuropathy. This condition can be treated through numerous types of therapy. The purpose of this study was to analyze, as a meta-analysis, different treatments used to alleviate painful diabetic neuropathy, with the aim of generating results that help making decisions when applying such treatments to tackle this pathology. METHODS: A search was conducted in the main databases for Health Sciences, such as PUBMED, Web of Science (WOS), and IME biomedicina (Spanish Medical Reports in Biomedicine), to gather randomized controlled trials about treatments used for painful diabetic neuropathy. The analyzed studies were required to meet the inclusion criteria selected, especially those results related to pain intensity. RESULTS: Nine randomized controlled trials were chosen. The meta-analysis shows significant positive effects for those treatments based on tapentadol [g: −1.333, 95% CI (−1.594; −1.072), P < 0.05], duloxetine [g: −1.622, 95 % CI (−1.650; −1.594), P < 0.05], pregabalin [g: −0.607, 95% CI (−0.980; −0.325), P < 0.05], and clonidine [g: −0.242, 95 % CI (−0.543; −0.058), P < 0.05]. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis indicates the effectiveness of the treatments based on duloxetine, gabapentin and pregabalin, as well as other drugs, such as tapentadol and topic clonidine, whose use is better prescribed in more specific situations. The results provided can help increase the knowledge about the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy and also in the making of clinical practice guidelines for healthcare professionals.
Chronic Pain ; Clonidine ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diabetes Complications ; Diabetic Neuropathies ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride ; Pain Management ; Pathology ; Pregabalin

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effects of duloxetine on the plasma levels of catecholamine metabolites and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in 64 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: Major depressive episode was diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition (DSM-IV) according to the DSM-IV text revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria. The severity of depression was evaluated using the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17). Blood sampling and clinical evaluation were performed on days 0, 28, and 56. RESULTS: Duloxetine treatment for 8 weeks significantly increased the plasma 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) levels but not the homovanillic acid (HVA) levels in responders with MDD. CONCLUSION: These results imply that noradrenaline plays an important role in alleviating depressive symptoms.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder, Major* ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Homovanillic Acid* ; Humans ; Norepinephrine* ; Plasma* ; Duloxetine Hydrochloride