About Us

Research

Treatment of Post-TBI Depression

Principal Investigator: Mary Hibbard, Ph.D.
Co-Investigators: Joshua B. Cantor, Ph.D., Steven Flanagan, M.D., Wayne A. Gordon, Ph.D., Teresa Ashman, Ph.D.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to document the efficacy of sertraline (Zoloft) in the treatment of depression (major depressive disorder) after TBI, including the impact on quality of life. Researchers will also explore the effects of sertraline on anxiety disorders, which often accompany post-TBI depression.

Background: Major depression is experienced by many more people after TBI than prior to injury and more often than in people without a brain injury. Our research has shown that about two in five people are depressed, three years after a brain injury. Many studies have also shown that this higher than ‘normal’ incidence looms for many years post TBI. Major depression is associated with a variety of negative outcomes, including poorer functioning in basic activities, reduced employment, elevated divorce rate, reduced social and recreational activity and increased sexual dysfunction.

Need for Research: Of the current drug treatments for major depression, Zoloft and similar drugs (known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs) have few side effects in people who have experienced a brain injury and have been shown to be effective in people with no known brain injury. However, information on the impact of SSRIs on post-TBI depression, based on randomized, double-blind studies, is unavailable.

Current Research Activity: Approximately 50 men and women volunteers who are post TBI and currently diagnosed with major depressive disorder are being randomly assigned to a 12-week period of taking Zoloft or a placebo (i.e., sugar pill). Over the period of study, participants will have the severity of their depressive symptoms assessed (as well as their symptoms of anxiety); a simple measure of the volunteer’s perceived quality of life will be implemented prior to the study and at its termination. It is hypothesized that Zoloft will reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety and will increase the person’s perceived quality of life to a significantly greater extent than will the placebo.