Efficacy of combined fluoxetine and aniracetam tablets in the treatment of senile depression and its effects on serum total bile acid and norepinephrine levels / 中国基层医药

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of combined fluoxetine and aniracetam tablets in the treatment of senile depression and its effects on serum total bile acid (TBA) and norepinephrine (NE) levels.Methods:A total of 100 older adult patients with depression who received treatment in Heze Medical College from January 2019 to December 2019 were included in this study. They were randomly assigned to receive either fluoxetine tablets alone (control group, n = 50) or fluoxetine and aniracetam tablets (study group, n = 50). All patients received two months of treatment. Clinical efficacy, scores of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAMA) and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD), adverse reactions, and serum TBA and NE levels were compared between the two groups. Results:Total response rate was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group [96.0% (48/50) vs. 84.0% (42/50), χ2 = 4.00, P = 0.045]. HAMD and HAMA scores post-treatment in the study group were (5.85 ± 1.81) points and (4.81 ± 1.57) points, respectively, which were significantly lower than those in the control group [(11.65 ± 2.65) points, (10.85 ± 2.84) points, t = 10.84, P < 0.001; t = 11.16, P < 0.001). Serum NE level was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group [(138.68 ± 16.35) ng/L vs. (127.17 ± 14.34) ng/L, t = 3.17, P = 0.002]. There were no significant differences in serum TBA level [(5.85 ± 0.63) μmol/L vs. (5.91 ± 0.65) μmol/L] and the incidence of adverse reactions (8.00% vs. 6.00%) between the study and control groups ( t = 0.39, P = 0.692; χ2 = 0.15, P = 0.695). Conclusion:The combined therapy of fluoxetine and aniracetam tablets for the treatment of senile depression is safe and highly effective, does not affect metabolic function and thereby deserves clinical application.